Demigod of the deep
by Momentei
Summary: A fate diverted from its true path, a choice that needed to be made. Now the future is shrouded in darkness for the titanic son of Poseidon. And that suits him just fine. For when when all is consumed by utter darkness, there is nothing left but forward.
1. prologue

A/N: Ok this is the second story that I'm writing. I hope this turns out good because there aren't many crossovers of these two. There will be new powers that I will give him as a result of the story.

Disclaimer: The Percy Jackson is owned by Rick and all League of Legends stuff goes to Riot Games.

Prologue

The Beginning

"Wake up! Please wake up! We can't hold out much longer!" He heard the words even through the raging storm that was around them, a slight shaking was felt on his hand. "The others can barely fight anymore! The only one left is you! Please don't leave us alone!"

He could hear the sound of the waves crashing, the screams of the lost souls as the seas claim them… then there were the voices. The pleading voices that struggle in a losing battle. The sound of their bodies being broken under the onslaught of the undead, their hope withering away amongst the screams of madness. But above all he could hear the sound of small tears falling onto his metal suit. Her desperation and sorrow were almost palpable.

His eyes opened, his gaze went down to the small creature that tightly grasped his massive gloved hand. His palm was large enough for her smaller body to easily rest upon. His gaze meets her amber eyes. He could sense all of the emotions that swirl in those orbs. Her pain and desperation, her hopelessness…her desire to do something more, but there was nothing that she could do about the chaos that is taking place in the oceans.

Nothing she could do… but there was still something that he could do. He could still fight some more.

The sound of creaking rings out. He liked to think the creaking was from the bones in his body being put to use, but deep down he knew that the man inside has long since been lost. The feeling of sand was soft under his body as he lifted himself up. He felt tired and exhausted and his non-existent body screamed for rest, but these were nothing more than phantom pains, memories of long ago. Slowly he stood on the beach. His eyes looking over the terror that had reached the shores of Bilgewater.

The Harrowing. It had always been a problem for the people of Runeterra. Especially for the residents of Bilgewater, but now had been the worst incident in many, many years. The attack had come out of nowhere. It overwhelmed the barriers and wards set up to deal with the supernatural threat. Barely any time to set up an actual defense, and no time to send for help. Not that any would come as the mist had spread to any routes the other nations could take.

Bilgewater was alone in this time of peril.

But then again these were the sailors of Bilgewater, and they weren't going down without a fight. With the god Nagakabouros on their side and the influence of Gangplank and Sarah Fortune, they had managed to set up an armada of ships to deal with the threat. Over a hundred ships were launched, each with hundreds of crews aboard, but even this didn't seem to be enough.

"Nautilus…?" A small voice said beside him. He turned to the small woman, no she was Nami, beside him. She floated on a ball of water, keeping her fishlike lower half above the ground. Her sea blue scales and yellow skin glistened from sea spray of the crashing waves. "Are you going...?" She asks, but there was no need to answer. She already knew the answer. "Just promise me that you'll come back with the others. I can't find Fizz or Illaoi and if anything were to happen to you or Sarah I don't…" Her voice cracks as tears begin to form in her eyes. "You'll come back… right?"

The metal giant stared out into the sea. There was no doubt in his body. He knew what must be done. What he needed to do for the ones that had done so much for him. He turned to his dear friend for what could be the last time. She extended her hands to him and he had to kneel for her to reach. Her hands weren't even big enough to wrap around the tip of his pinky finger. She was so small compared to his massive size that he had to be careful so as to not hurt her, not that he would ever dare to hurt the gentle and caring woman. He could feel her squeeze on the metal appendage. He was going to miss her presence.

As he rose, he felt a small presence on his finger. Lifting his hand he looks at his pinky to see a small bracelet with a glowing blue stone on it.

"It's a sea stone arm band," Nami spoke. "My people uses them to ward of evil and protect those dear to us. I-I want you to keep it, so you'll be safe." Nami barely manages to choke back a sob. The titan looks at the small apparel before storing it in a compartment that was built in his massive body for safe keeping

The screeches of the damned sounded off in the distance. The titan knew it was the time. The massive chain attached to his body reeled in at an incredible pace and soon a massive anchor burst from the ocean and into his waiting grasp. Easily lifting the object that was almost as large as his body, as if it weighed nothing at all, he trudged to the raging seas and into the dark of the depths.

He could still hear Nami's voice until it was silenced as he submerged. Being under water was a familiar feeling, a feeling that he had grown accustomed to over his many years of existence. The liquid let him move faster than on land and with nimble precision. In a swift and practiced move that he had done countless times before he threw his anchor. After a few moments he felt the chain shake in his hand. With a roar he let the chain pull him towards where ever the massive anchor landed. As he soared through the water his vision caught sight of many ships that had sunken to the bottom of the ocean. Many of them old galleons that had been claimed by the sea life and some that had just sunken at the hands of the Harrowing.

The titan of the deep allowed his fury to fill his metal body. He would find his friends, no matter what.

The titan's eyes widen as something crashes into him, sending him plummeting down to the sea floor. Nautilus stands as if the attack had never happened, in this case it might as well not have as it didn't even scratch his metal body. He looks around in the expanse of water for his attacker until he sees a group of ghastly forms swimming through the water.

The forms come closer and begin to clear. If Nautilus had eyebrows one of them would have been raised in question. An armored phantom sailed through the waters on a chariot pulled by… ghost sharks?

The shark chariot turned and began its charge once at Nautilus. The titan felt the anchor once again settle into his hands. Holding it back, primed to strike.

The sharks seemed to roar a ghastly roar as the got closer, and closer. The phantom raised a trident and pointed it at Nautilus as if to order the attack. Nautilus braced himself and slammed into the shark chariot. Two sharks latched onto his body, their teeth failing to damage his shell, but it didn't stop Nautilus's charge as he rammed into the chariot, crushing it and sending the sea phantom to the sea floor. The phantom tries to stand using its trident, only to turn and immediately be crushed into nonexistence by the massive anchor that was sailing in its direction.

At the death of their master the ghost sharks dissipated into nothingness. Nautilus looked around to find the waters around him empty. He looked up to the surface and spotted his targets. A mass of ships floating above the waves. With a throw of his anchor he latches onto one of the already sinking vessels and rockets to the surface. The lights of the ship glowing brighter the closer he got, and the spectral glow of the undead monsters that were attacking the ship.

Nautilus unlatches his anchor and lets his momentum carry him forth. Positioning himself just right he flies out of the waters and lands onto the lead ship with a mighty boom. He knew Sarah would be here. She was a leader, a captain, a commander of Bilgewater's defenses and as such he knew she would need a flag ship. He had sunken many ships in his life so this much he knew.

"Nautilus?" A feminine voice filled with hope said. "Is it really you?" Nautilus turned around to look at her. Her blood red hair was plastered to her face from the sea spray. She looked exhausted from the endless fighting and yet at the same time she still had a stunning and seductive beauty that the man who long ago wore this suit would have been entranced by, but she was his friend and even with all of the blood that stained her body there was no way to mistake her.

A massive roar reverberates through the air. Nautilus turns to it, not bothering to speak to Sarah as there were more pressing matters at hand. The water glows green as a massive spectral form begins to rise from the dark depths. The creature was a massive undead serpent with tentacles writhing along its body. Nautilus knows this beast as he has seen it many times as he walked the depths of the ocean. The kraken, a monster that had once acknowledged him as an equal, a sinker of ships, a monster of the darkest depths, was now an eldritch abomination at the command of the Harrowing. Along with-it ghouls began to scale the ships in droves from the dark waters.

"That thing is back!" Sarah screamed as she aimed her twin hand cannons at the monster. Her guns spewed forth metal and fire at the creature. Nautilus charged forth swinging his anchor left and right, cutting through the tentacles of the beast as they tried to wrap around his body. With his massive hands he reached out and crushed any ghoul that got to close. His feet crushing them under his massive weight. He fought for five, ten, fifteen minutes? He didn't even know how long he had been fighting these abominations.

Suddenly the spectral sea monster roared in pain as a barrage of cannon fire bombarded it mercilessly. Nautilus looked over to the an equally massive ship a ways away. On the prow stood brutish looking pirate captain shouting out orders to the crew of the ship.

Gangplank, the scourge of the seas, had joined the fray and sailed past Sarah's ship and to a large group of vessels past our position. It seemed that the cannon fire drove the sea monster back as it submerged below.

Nautilus turned to Sarah. His glowing orange eyes locked onto her and she let a small smile grace her face. She looked like she wanted to speak, but a look of horror spread across her face.

"Nautilus! Look out!" Sarah screamed and backstepped.

Nautilus turned around to see the kraken resurface with its maw open as ethereal green flames lapped at forth. With a mighty roar a stream of green fire was shot in their direction. The rest of the crew ran to safety but Sarah was far to close for that. Then time seemed to slow for the titan as it watched the flames approach. An unyielding fury filled his empty shell once more as his body moved to cover Sarah's. His armor glowed a bright green at the joints as his shield flared into existence.

The shield protected the two as it flared at the damage, yet Nautilus could feel the heat against his back as his shield then broke. He curled up even more to protect Sarah from the attack that was starting to burn parts of his body. He grunted in pain but he endured. He had lost many things, but this he wasn't going to let be taken from him. He was going to protect what he loved most.

The flames suddenly stopped and Nautilus uncurled himself from around Sarah. Sarah though was stunned at the damage that the attack did to her ship and then at the damage on Nautilus's body. A second later she snapped from her daze and began to bark out orders to the crew to put out the fires. In Nautilus's eyes the shipped seemed barely held together and the only thing that they could do was to run, but that's where the problem arose. The kraken wouldn't let them escape. It was dead set on being the death of them. Sarah's sea green eyes met with Nautilus's orange orbs. She knew the order that had to be made. It was the only way. But the order was cruel, so cruel that it brought tears to her eyes…. Not again…she couldn't let him be abandoned.  
He doesn't deserve that fate again…not again…not again…not ag—

**"Go."**

Sarah widened her eyes as she looked at the titan before her. The word was nothing more than a whisper, but to Sarah he might as well have screamed it to the heavens. The dams finally burst, and tears fell like waterfalls down her face. She hated the world, she hated her helplessness, but there was no other choice, and she hated that most of all. She ran forth and hugged his massive body, it was cold to the touch, but she didn't care, and in a way she enjoyed it more than all of the finest rum in Bilgewater.

Sarah unwrapped a maroon cloth that she had wrapped around her arm. She held the cloth up to the metal giant and placed it in his hand. "Here I think that you should hold on to this." Sarah said with a weary smile. "I-its pretty important you know. I expect you to return that to me." The tears began to flow even more as Sarah cried harder. Nautilus knew that the cloth held no value to her but he wouldn't tell her. "B-but i-if you can't then I'll c-come get it f-from you. J-just wait for m-me okay, I'll come back for you." Sarah's voice broke at the words. She then kissed the metal of his hand before backing away and returning to what was left of her crew that was evacuating the ship.

Nautilus allowed himself to watch as Sarah's figure disappeared. He was going to miss her as well, for like Nami she was irreplaceable in his eyes.

Nautilus stood and stored the maroon cloth in the same storage as the bracelet. He turned to face his opponent. The massive beast was once again trying to tear the ship apart. Nautilus let out a furious roar. A roar so strong that it seemed to quiet the very seas themselves and made the eldritch kraken and ghouls freeze for a moment. A moment that the titan capitalized.

Nautilus spun his anchor in a circle reminiscent of two generals that he had fought in the rift and let go of the massive weapon yet kept a firm grasp on the chain. The anchor swung in a massive arc and dug itself in to the throat of the kraken. The kraken roared out in pain as it tried to escape but instead was being pulled toward the metal behemoth. Its tentacles circled and wrapped around his body, trying to crush him but the metal didn't budge an inch. He kept pulling until the kraken was close enough for him to grab it by its toothy maw. The kraken's throat began to glow green once more as it tried to spew fire once more. Nautilus didn't give the beast a chance as he slammed its head into the deck and reared back his fist. He then brought the massive gauntlet down on the kraken's head once…twice…three times. The titan of the depths didn't stop his furious onslaught, the tentacles that tried to restrain his arms were ripped off as he punched, and he kept punching until the kraken's head was nothing but a massive stain of spectral green paste.

Its body slowly slide off the deck and back into the ocean. Nautilus turned and began to decimate the ghouls that were on the ship in mad fury until they were dead once more. After they were all gone Nautilus watched the escape vessels that had left the doomed ship. He could still see Sarah watching him as she sailed farther away. But then something grabbed his leg.

With a sudden jolt Nautilus was brought to his knees and the tentacles began to wrap around him till he was thoroughly restrained. He cursed at his foolishness for believing the eldritch creature was dead as he saw its headless body rise once more. But then he heard screams of panic. His eyes looked onto the escape vessel as the pirates aboard panicked as tentacles began to wrap around the vessel. But his gaze was locked onto one person. Her red hair and sea green eyes a stark contrast to the darkness that was surrounding her. Her eyes were filled with fear…she was terrified and yet at the same time there was relief. Relief that she will die with him… That she will walk the road to the after life with him…She won't ever have to leave him alone again.

**"NO!"** Nautilus roared, his rage burning within him like an inferno, as he tore away at the tentacles and grabbed his anchor. He raised the massive weapon and it glowed with an intense green aura. Nautilus's body glowed as the pure power of the oceans that had transformed him into what he was coursed through him. He felt the black mist itself quickly try to attack his body, as if it sensed the danger of the abyssal power in him. Its touch was corruptive against his metal armor as it tried to penetrate deeper, only to be repelled by the primordial power that lived within him.

**"BEGONE!"** He roared. Nautilus brought the anchor down. The impact causing an explosion of power that spread throughout the black mist of the Harrowing. A flash of white engulfed Nautilus as the sea itself seemed to erupt in a massive column.

…

…

…

Nautilus knew not where he was. His shell was heavily damaged. The glowing orange lights that were once his eyes barely flickered with life anymore. He didn't know if this was the afterlife, but he did know that he was tired. Tired of fighting, of wandering, of hating. He just wanted to rest, to not think anymore, but he did let one thought cross his mind. He felt the Harrowing disappear. He felt all those damned souls leaving the mortal plane of Runeterra, and now they were safe. Nami, Sarah, and hopefully Fizz were all safe. He reached into his storage and pulled out the last remnants he had of his friends. A maroon cloth and a bracelet. He held them close to his body, right where his heart was supposed to be.

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A young boy ran in the dead of night as fast as his little legs could carry him. He didn't dare look back in fear that those men were behind him. Tears streamed down his face as he ducked behind a tree. His breathing was ragged, the air wasn't flowing in properly as he sobbed.

"Find the damn brat!" A gruff voice shouted from where he had run away from.

He closed his eyes and hugged his knees to his chest. Fresh scenes began to play in his head. The men breaking into his and his mothers' cabin, his mother telling him to run, and one of the men hitting his mom over the head. The scene froze in his mind, his mother's dull eyes stared into his own as the blood flowed down her face. He began to cry even harder but stayed quiet in fear of being found.

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Yet unbeknownst to him in a realm beyond mortal reach, three elderly looking women watched over him with growing concern. This was not supposed to happen. This was not how his life was planned out and they could smell the Titan Lord's influence all over this, and yet they couldn't interfere. The ancient laws forbade them. But the mother wasn't supposed to die, and they feared that the boy would follow soon, and without him Olympus would fall, with the world soon after. So maybe, just this once they'll make an exception.

However, this left the three with a serious problem. The men would find him eventually, and he was just a child. They went over many different ways and all seemed to doom the little boy, until one of the women proposed an idea. The child was close to the anomaly. One that they had worked meticulously to cover up as it did not belong in this world.

What would the outcome of this be? It was foggy and vague even to their eyes. Yet time was running out, but could they do it? The child would never be the same, an outcast in the world, his innocence would be robbed for the sake of others. They hoped that they were making the right decision.

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The young boy silently cried from behind a tree as he tried to hide form the mean men that had attacked his mother. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know who to call for help, nor did he know where to go.

The sound of rustling leaves makes the child flinch. He presses himself closer to the tree in the hopes that he wouldn't be noticed by what ever came from the brush. A few moments later a blue deer walked out from the forest brush. The child was mesmerized by the odd colored animal. He had never seen or even heard of such an animal and yet it stood there staring into his eyes. The deer walked closer to the young boy and used its head to nudge his foot and tilt it in a direction in the forest.

"Do you want me to follow?" The little boy asked quietly.

The deer didn't respond and just nodded in the same direction as before and then began to walk off. The boy didn't know what to do yet he soon found himself trying to follow the deer like something was compelling him to. The sound of the gruff voices could still be heard from behind him as they seemed to be getting closer. The young boy soon found himself running once again to get away, the deer always staying just ahead of him until he came to a halt in front of a cave. The smell of the ocean filled his nose.

The deer nods its head once more to the entrance as if expecting him to go in. The boy thought that he should turn and run away once more, but something was drawing him in. Something familiar and yet foreign at the same time.

"Do you want me to go in there?" The boy asked.

The deer seemed to give him a sad and pitying look before nodding its head.

The boy carefully walked into the entrance of the cave, but then stopped. He turned around, wanting to thank the odd colored animal for helping him but was met with only empty space. A bit frightened he turned and walked into the darkness. His small hands never left the wall as he wandered in the dark. He didn't know how long he had been walking but it seemed like forever to the boy until he saw a sliver of moonlight in a massive cave. His small head peeked around the corner and he gasped at the sight.

Leaning against the wall of the cave was a massive metal giant and a huge anchor sitting next to it.. The boy couldn't help but let out a small gasp. It reminded him of that movie about the giant robot his mom took him to see last year. At the thought of his mother his heart sank, but then he steeled himself. That deer had led him here so maybe it could help. The young boy looked over the giant and saw that it was clutching something to its chest. Maybe it could help him?

Clumsily the boy climbed onto the top of the massive leg and crawled to the gauntlet that was held tightly to its body. He began to pull on the metal hand in the hopes that it would open up. He pulled, and pulled until it finally gave way just a little bit. The boy was ecstatic until the massive suit began to rumble and its hand moved even more.

"AAHH!" The boy screamed as he let go and tumbled down its body. He managed to stop himself from falling to the ground and now sat upon its massive leg. He looked up from where he got himself settled and his sea green eyes met large orange orbs.

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Nautilus had been asleep for so long. For how long he didn't even know. During those brief moments where he was even awake, he couldn't move. His metal body had suffered to much damage when he had destroyed the Harrowing, and now it felt like something was keeping him here. But that was fine for him, he didn't want to do anything anymore. He knew that his friends would be sad and deep down he knew that he was somewhere that they would never be able to reach him, but the thought that they were alive brought him peace.

However, one day something had awakened him from his dreamless slumber. Something was pulling on his hand, the hand that held his memories. An inkling of leftover fury sparked with in him at the thought of losing what little he had left, and he moved the hand. Whatever was trying to steal from him feel with a scream and Nautilus's eyes flickered to life once more.

The thief was not what he expected, he was used to the cutthroats and brutish pirates of Bilgewater, but this was just a child. Their eyes met each other, bright orange locked onto sea green, the same sea green that reminded him of Sarah.

**"Who are you?"** The giant asked.

His voice echoed around the cave. It was deep and metallic, and almost had a hollow sound to it. It was emotionless but the boy seemed to hear the confusion and lack of malice that the metal giant intended to portray.

"P-Percy." The small boy, no Percy stutters out."

**"Why are you here?"**

Percy hesitated at the question. He didn't know what this thing was but the deer seemed to have led him here for a reason. "I-I was led here."

**"To steal?**" His orange orbs glowed a bit more intensely. His hand gripped tighter around his treasures.

"No, no," Percy waved his hands wildly. "I needed help and I was brought here, s-some bad m-men hurt my m-mom. A-and I don't want t-to die." Percy choked out as his eyes began to water.

Nautilus watched the boy with a careful gaze. The child was innocent. A sharp pang filled his body. The boy reminded him so much of his dear friends. He could feel the power of the sea with in Percy, much like his friends Nami and Fizz. And his eyes resembled Sarah's not only in color but in the desire to be unrestrained, to be free. He could see ghost faces of his friends crying in his mind. He saved them but it had cost him greatly, not that he cared, but maybe he could help one more person.

**"Help."** He muttered

"Huh?" Percy looked up in tearful eyes at Nautilus.

**"Will help."**

A small spark of hope ignited in Percy's eyes.

**"But not like this."**

The spark diminished considerably. "Is there any way you can?"

**"A way."** Nautilus said. **"But will you accept?"**

Percy looked unsure for a moment before his eyes hardened. The tears still stained his face, but he was no longer crying. "I do."

Nautilus didn't say anything, but at those words his body began to glow a sea green. The titan reached out and touched Percy's forehead with one of his massive fingers. The light became blinding as it filled the cave.

The sound of Percy screaming echoed through out the cave.

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Joe Bill walked through the woods at a leisurely pace. He and his two brothers were hunting that demigod brat that they were told about. Joe Bill's mouth just watered at the thought of how good that demigod would taste once they got their hands on him.

You see Joe Bill and his brothers were Laestrygonian giants. They each stood at around eight feet tall and had sharp teeth and nails. They weren't the smartest monsters but what did that mater when they were strong enough to throw boulders and easily tear through that tiny cabin the demigod and mortal were staying in.

"Hey Joe Bill." One of his brothers called out, Bill Joe was his name. "You smell anything"

"Nah." Joe Bill shouted. "How 'bout you? You find anything?"

"I ain't got shit." Bill Joe said in frustration.

"Hey I think I got something." Joe Bill's other brother shouted out, his name was Tom.

"Really?" Bill Joe said. "Well don't just stand there ya idiot. Lead the way."

Joe Bill followed his brothers through the forest. He could faintly hear the coast that was a ways away from where they were. After a few minutes of walking they found themselves in front of a dark cave.

"You sure this is where he is?" Joe Bill asked.

"Just take a whiff yourself. His scents all over this place. Now come on I'm hung—" Was all Tom managed to say before something massive tore his head from his body. His body disintegrated into gold dust but Joe Bill and Bill Joe were to stunned to speak. Joe Bill turned his head to see whatever had killed his brother. A massive anchor was entrenched into the ground behind them, then its chain went taut as it was pulled back towards the cave.

The two Laestrygonians just watched as the massive object was dragged into the darkness of the cave. The only thing that was visible was a luminescent orange glow in the darkness.

"Y-You bastard! How dare you do that to our brother!" Bill Joe shouted. "Come out here so I can kill you proper!" Joe Bill heard the fury in his brother's voice, but he could see just how tense he really was. Joe Bill himself was also tense.

Whatever was in the cave didn't move for a few moments but then began to slowly walk from out of the darkness of the cave and into the moonlight. It was a little boy, or more specifically the seven-year-old boy that they were told about. But something seemed different about the brat. He was carrying that massive anchor on his shoulder like it weighed nothing and yet the thing seemed to be bigger than his entire body, a maroon cloth was tied around his neck and an arm band was on his wrist. He was no longer crying, in fact his face held no emotion whatsoever, but what was most unsettling was the luminescent orange glow that came from his left eye. A cold and unsettling pressure washed over Joe Bill as he looked at the boy.

"I'm gonna enjoy eating you!" Bill Joe shouted and lunges at the small boy. In a swift motion the anchor came down and cleaved Bill Joe into gold dust as soon as he came close enough.

Joe Bill backed away. "T-this brat wasn't worth it" He thought to himself as dread filled his body as the small boy began to walk towards him. He turned to run back into the forest until the anchor few past him before being pulled back at an incredible speed. The object hooked around him and pulled him back towards the demigod. He landed on the ground, gasping for air since the anchor had hit him in the gut, and slowly rose to his knees. Then a hand grasped his throat in an iron grip. Joe Bill opened his eyes and looked down. Even kneeling he was still taller than the young demigod but that made little difference as the grip began to tighten and crush his windpipe.

Joe Bill's large clawed hand came up and wrapped around the demigod's arm and tried to pry it away or break it, or even scratch it, but it was like an immovable vice. Joe Bill was close enough that he could see the boy's feature. He stared at his eyes and noticed that they were different colors. One was a deep-sea green that looked like a bottomless ocean and the other was a burning orange color that bore into his very soul, but they both seemed to hold no emotion as they bore into his own. His monstrous instincts were screaming at him that this boy was unnatural, an abomination and to stay away but he couldn't escape. Joe Bill couldn't even breathe, he tried to call out, but nothing came. The hand tightened and tightened until finally…SNAP!

Joe Bill's limp body fell to the floor and slowly began to disintegrate. His neck crushed and bent at an unnatural angle. With the last of his life he watched the young demigod he was told to hunt walk off into the forest, the anchor carving a path into the dirt behind him before finally disappearing into the dark forest.

A/N: Welp there's the first chapter. I honestly had trouble deciding on this story. Not in that I was going to write it, no. It was more on what champion to use and which would fit Percy. It was a toss up between Nautilus and Pyke and so I flipped a coin and here we are. I also had a few other ideas. One where Percy developed split personalities after being fused with Diana and Leona. Or even Percy and Morgana and fusing Kayle and Luke together, that would have been pretty good. Anyways I got this idea after reading Of Red Petals and Black Feathers by Unseen Lurker. It's a RWBYxLeague crossover that is very good and I recommend you read it. I will have Percy similar to how he does Ruby in his story since I like the take on the character. Also I do hope to introduce other elements of league into the PJO universe and would like some help with suggestions as well as suggestions for a pairing. I'm thinking Perzoe for this. All right I've rambled enough. Make sure you leave a review and I challenge any of you to write a PJOxLeague crossover.

Momentei out.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Percy Jackson is property of Rick and League of Legends is property of Riot Games

Chapter 1

Thalia Grace, Annabeth Chase, and Will Solace were being driven by Argus, the hundred eyed head of security of Camp Half-Blood, to a military academy called Westover Hall. Days ago, their mutual friend, Grover Underwood sent out a distress call that he had found something but was too scared to say what. In response Chiron decided to send a quest to investigate what had the satyr so terrified.

The three demigods remained silent throughout the trip. The only conversation was the occasional questions from Thalia on the world since she was stuck as a tree. Internally however the three were trying to figure out what had their friend (or acquaintance in Will's case) so scared.

The van rolled to a stop at the end of a long driveway. Argus knocked on the dashboard, as if to say, 'we're here'. All together the three demigods got out of the van, the snow on the ground crunched underneath their weight.

"Thanks Argus." Annabeth said with a smile. The multi eyed man smiled and one of the eyes on his neck winked. He then pulled out of the drive way and drove off into the night.

The three demigods turned and looked at the massive building before them. It was like a castle taken out of a fantasy book. Each of them found the mass of stone and concrete to be a bit intimidating in the slightly cloudy winter night, but none of them would ever admit the thought to the others. They were demigods, they had to have some pride.

"So, what do you think he found?" Will Solace asked. He was the least familiar with Grover and as such did not know what to really expect from the satyr.

Thalia shrugged. "It could be anything. A new demigod, a monster, a female satyr that's attracted to him?"

"A female satyr?" Will gave her an amused look as he tried to picture such a scenario.

"Only way we'll find out is if we go in." Thalia said with a shrug before she starts walking to the castle, with the two others following behind her.

It hadn't even been ten seconds after entering through the massive doors of the castle, before the trio were greeted by two people, a man and a woman, dressed in black military forms complete with matching red trimming. The woman had a faint mustache, while the man was clean shaven. The man also had two differently colored eyes, one blue, and one brown.

Thalia thought that this was a weird duo. Especially the man, every time his gaze shifted her direction it put her on edge just a little.

"And who are you three?" The woman asked haughtily.

Thalia then stepped forward and snapped her fingers. A gust of wind seemed to blow in from nowhere and spread throughout the foyer. Thalia put power into her words as she spoke. "We go here remember? We're Thalia, Annabeth, and Will. We're eighth grade students." She was going to have to remember to thank Chiron for teaching her to manipulate the mist later.

The woman's eyes glazed over but the man next to her just held his stony expression.

"Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these three?" The stern man asked his associate, he had a thick French accent as he spoke.

"Ah…yes" Ms. Gottschalk said as her eyes lost the glazed look. "This is Thalia, Annabeth, and Will. They go here, but the real question is why you three aren't in the gymnasium, at the dance."

The military man looked like he wanted to say more but Grover showed up in that moment, panting as if he sprinted over here. "You guys made it!" He exclaimed.

The military man gave the satyr an irritated look. "What are you implying Mr. Underwood? These three go to school here."

"Of course, they do sir." Grover managed to cover up his blunder. "I was talking about the punch…for the dance. They made the punch for the dance.

"Yes, what excellent punch." Ms. Gottschalk said dreamily. "Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!" She ordered and then she and the military man disappeared back into the gymnasium.

Grover turned to the trio. "Thank the gods you are all here?" He said.

"What's the emergency?" Annabeth asked.

Grover took a deep breath. "I found three.

"Three half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?"

Grover nodded. "Yeah. The first two are sister and brother. Bianca and Nico DiAngelo. Their scents are pretty strong, I'd say almost as strong as Thalia's."

At this the three demigod's eyes widened. Thalia was one of the strongest demigods in camp. If there were two new demigods that were close to her level it could mean that they were potentially children of the big three.

"Wait," Will spoke up. "You said there were three?"

Grover began to fidget nervously. "It's the third one. He's a half blood, but…he's strange."

They all looked at him with skeptical looks. "Strange how?" Annabeth asked

"Strange as in he smells like a demigod and yet at the same time, he smells of something abnormal and dangerous. Like I can't even sense any emotions from him no matter how hard I try and that I feel like I'm drowning every time I try and get close to him." Grover said as he began to shiver.

"Who is this kid?" Annabeth asked slowly.

"His name is Percy Jackson."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A young boy was sitting on the bleachers as he watched the dance below him. His heterochromatic eyes, which were a deep-sea green and a burning orange, scanned the people that were standing to the sides of the gymnasium, trying to avoid dancing while maintaining their little groups. He vaguely noticed the small group entering the gym through the main door.

This boy was Percy Jackson and he felt the small pangs of loneliness as he watched students. Not that it really bothered him, but he did wish he had friends.

His hand reached up and he began to rub the maroon clothe that was tied around his neck. The clothe always soothed that feeling of loneliness, that or the bracelet that he always wore, and it helped to think of the long-lost friends of a past life that was both his and yet not his.

"Get up. We must move." A harsh voice whispered in a heavy French accent.

Percy turned and his heterochromatic eyes stared emotionlessly into a pair of similar eyes, albeit with a different pair of colors than his own. The man started to look a bit uncomfortable at the dead gaze that the boy was giving but brushed the feeling aside.

"Dr. Thorne? What's going on?" A young girl wearing a floppy green cap asked. She was protectively sheltering a similar looking younger boy, that held onto a deck of cards like a life line, behind her back. Her eyes just screamed how on edge she was.

'Bianca and Nico.' Percy thought of their names, but his face remained neutral in expression.

"The time has come for us to leave." He said as he maintained a firm grip on her shoulder. Thorn internally cursed the demigods that had come and for not killing the satyr sooner, but he didn't want to risk the gods knowing his position by killing one of their scouts.

Percy stood up from his seat on the bleacher, the wood groaned as if in relief of a massive amount of weight that had just been lifted off of it.

Thorn placed his hand on Percy's shoulder and tried to push him to a set of doors that led out of the gym, but he found that Percy wasn't budging in the slightest. "Move." Thorn grunted.

"Please." Percy said in a deadpan tone, his hand rubbed against the sea stone on his arm as he recalled memories of his lost friend teaching him the importance of manners.

Thorns eye twitched. "You can't be serious."

Percy just stared at him.

Thorn grit his teeth and suppressed a growl. "Move. Please."

Percy then began to move as Thorn directed the three demigods to the doors and out of the building.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bianca was internally freaking out. 'Where was he taking us?' and 'What does he want?' were just a few of the thoughts that were racing through her head. Though through all of her chaotic thoughts she found herself looking at the other boy that Thorn had grabbed along with her and Nico. 'Percy Jackson' she thought. She didn't know the boy personally or at all really. She only knew about the few rumors that surrounded him. That he had run away from so many orphanages and foster homes that the state had no choice but to ship him here, or that he was freakishly strong, despite having a swimmer's body and standing at 6'5. Then there were the outlandish rumors like he was experimented on as a child and that was the reason, he had a personality like a machine.

Eventually Bianca's ADHD addled mind had enough. "Dr Thorn what is going on?"

Thorn grunted as he opened up a door and pushed Bianca, Nico and Percy out into the frigid cold. "In five minutes, my transport will be here, and you three are coming with me. The General believes you to be very important demigods to his plan."

"Demi-what?" Bianca asked.

Nico just pressed himself closer to his sister. Percy however just continued on with the same blank expression.

"The Great Stirring is upon us," Thorn said, ignoring Bianca's question. "soon we will have gathered enough forces to march on Olympus, and we shall soon have the mightiest beast in our grasp and Olympus's downfall will be secured. And I will be at the front, leading the forces." Thorn's eyes seemed to shine at the thought, but he then snapped out of his euphoria.

Bianca and Nico had expressions of fear at the man's ranting while Percy looked as if he had almost fallen asleep standing up.

Thorn lead the three and they stopped in front of a cliff that overlooked the ocean. The waves beat against the cliff side hundreds of feet below where they were standing. The brother and sister unconsciously took a step back.

"You three should fell honored." Thorn said in his heavy accent. "You will have the opportunity to join the great army."

"He's insane." Nico said from behind his sister.

Then out of nowhere the two DiAngelo siblings were shoved to the ground, but when the same force tried to knock Percy over, he didn't move. He stood there like an immovable object as Thorn panicked for a split second and launched a volley of spikes from seemingly nowhere. The volley flew over the heads of the siblings, what ever force had tried to push Percy down had dove away, the patch of snow that was near him flattening was the only indication that it was a person. Percy though just moved his body slightly to dodge the spikes and raised his arm, catching a spike that was a bout to strike his neck, with his bare hand.

Thorn then roared and from seemingly nowhere a large group of monsters seemed to pour into the empty cliff side.

Bianca watched as a dark-haired girl, a blonde archer, and that boy that was stalking her and her brother throughout the school year charged at the horde.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_moments earlier_

Thalia was not in a good mood. First off Grover had left out that there was a monster already after the three demigods. Secondly that said monster was the man that stopped them at the doors to the gym, the vice principle Dr. Thorn, and finally that someone thought it was a good idea to play Jesse McCartney for the dance.

"Thalia. The demigods are gone."

'Great now this is happening.' Thalia thought to herself.

"What do you mean they're gone?" Thalia demanded.

Will backed up from the dark-haired daughter of Zeus. "What I'm saying is that they aren't on the bleachers anymore." He pointed to the spot where they last were.

Thalia locked to the bleachers and saw that they were indeed missing. She scanned around the gym until her eyes came upon a pair of doors at the other end of the gym. Dr. Thorn was pushing someone, who she could only guess was the three demigods, through the doors. Thalia turned to Will.

"Will go get Annabeth and Grover and then follow me outside. Thorn has the three kids and we can't let them get away."

"What will you do?" Will asked. His look was worrisome and skeptical.

"I'll keep an eye on them and make sure they don't leave, now go." Thalia said with finality in her voice, before she took off.

Will left to go find the others while Thalia made her way to the exit doors. She pushed them open and quietly strode out into the hall. Her foot steps slightly echoing in the emptiness. The she wanders around as she looks for where Thorn and the demigods went. She looks at each of the doors in the hall only to find that they were locked and empty. She continued down the hall until she heard a crunch beneath her foot.

Thalia looks down and moves her foot. Underneath was a patch of freshly fallen snow—where did it come from? Her eyes trail as across the floor until it reaches a door. Half melted snow puddled around the door, showing that it was recently used, and that it led outside. She reaches for the door, but a hand then rests upon her shoulder.

Thalia whirls around and taps the bracelet on her arm. A shield springs to life, a replica of the legendary shield Aegis that she was given when she was younger. The mystery person recoils at the sight of it along with two others. Thalia was half way to reaching for the mace can in her pocket and summoning her spear when she sees that it's her three companions.

"Jeez Thalia!" Grover cries, as he cowers. "Put that thing away."

Thalia lowers her shield. "You guys made it."

"Did you find where they went?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia motioned towards the door that she was about to step through. "I think that they went through here. There's snow all over the floor, so it must have been used recently. We have to catch them before they get away."

The demigods each pull out their weapons and prepare for the battle.

"Ok, I'll go ahead and make sure that the demigods are safe, after that Thalia will deal with Thorn while Will and Grover will provide support for Thalia. Once The demigods are secure, I'll help Thalia finish off Thorn." Annabeth spouted off her plan. Thalia nodded her head at the plan. It was a reasonable one that would catch their enemy off guard.

Annabeth puts on her invisibility cap and the group files out of the door. Thalia leads them around the school and to a corner and peeks out.

Thorn stood near the edge of the cliff with the demigods in tow, ranting about something. The brother and sister were huddled together, and Thalia could see that they were visibly shaken up, the other demigod, a raven-haired boy that was a few inches taller than her, held an emotionless expression as he listened to Thorn rant animatedly. This was the boy that had Grover so spooked, Percy Jackson.

Thalia watched as footprints began to appear in the snow. It was their only way of tracking the daughter of Athena. Thalia held a breath in anticipation as Annabeth went closer and closer to her target.

Then the sibling pair was forcibly shoved to the ground. Thalia took this as her signal to rush out and attack, Will and Grover behind her with bow and reed pipes at the ready. Except there was a problem. Percy Jackson was still standing even though Thalia could see deep grooves in the snow to show that Annabeth tried to push him.

The brief moment of surprise that had held Thorn passed and he let loose a volley of projectiles from a tail that seemed to grow out from behind him. The projectiles missed the siblings completely, one of them headed straight for her own face but a raise of her shield deflected it, yet nearly took her off her feet. Thalia readjusted herself from the impact, but a moment of fear hit her as a volley of spines were thrown wildly towards that Percy kid. However, that turned to surprise as he didn't even flinch at the projectiles as they nearly hit him and flew past.

Thalia didn't let that emotion linger before she charged forth.

Thorn let loose a vicious and inhumane roar as his body morphed and changed. He grew larger and his body took the form of a huge lion with a scorpion's tail, his face however remained the same.

"A manticore!" Annabeth shouted from somewhere.

Thorn then pounced forward with a roar to engage the demigods and satyr. Thalia didn't stop and raised Aegis at Thorn as she let out a war cry. Will was firing arrows at the spikes that Thorn launched with great accuracy. Grover was playing a fancy jig that caused grass to sprout out of the snow and tangle themselves around the monster's feet.

Thalia thrust, bashed, rolled, and stabbed at the monster. She thrust her spear forward and managed to make a small cut in Thorn's shoulder, which earned her a heavy swipe that nearly took her off her feet if not for her shield. Thalia regained her stance and sent a bolt of lightning, nearly hitting Thorn and causing him to jump back.

"Give it up. You can't beat us so just let them go." Thalia shouted with confidence.

"And who are you to give orders, daughter of Zeus." Thorn snarled.

"I think you just answered your own question." Thalia said with a smirk as her spear crackled with electricity.

"You are in no position to be cocky demigod. I hold all the leverage, now yield. My master has great plans for these three."

"Really what leverage?" Thalia said with her voice full of sarcasm.

"The demigods that are in my gra—" Thorn said only to turn and realize that the DiAngelo's were missing.

Thalia smirked even more. Annabeth had gotten them out of there in time. But that feeling of confidence dwindled when she noticed that Percy was still standing in the same spot, watching them.

Annabeth materialized next to Thalia, her face flushed from heavy exertion. "Why didn't you grab all of them?" Thalia harshly whispered to the blonde girl.

"I tried to pull him away, but he wouldn't move. The kid weighs a ton." Annabeth said through gasps of air. "But the other two are with Grover so they'll be fine."

Suddenly a beating sound began to pound in Thalia's ears. It was consistent and getting louder. Thalia didn't know what it was until a military helicopter rose from behind Thorn. It was an intimidating sight with its missile launchers attached to the wings and a chain gun on the front.

Thalia grit her teeth. This situation just got harder.

"Even if I only have one of the children it will be enough." Thorn growled as he edged closer to Percy and wrapped his scorpion tail around him so that one of its spikes was positioned under his neck. The only indication that Percy even acknowledged the situation was a slight raise of his brow in confusion as he looked at the tail. "Yield!" Thorn roared.

Thalia looked into Percy's eyes. Electric blue met green and orange. "Don't worry kid. We'll get you to safety. I promise." Thalia said as she eyed Thorn, trying to think of a way to rescue the demigod hostage. What she wasn't expecting however was the boy's response.

"Are you a good person?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Are you a good person?"

Percy watched as confusion formed on the girl's face, and then it spread to her companions. Percy did not understand why she was confused. It was a simple question, but then again Percy knew he wasn't the best with social ques, so he repeated the question.

"Are you a good person?"

The dark-haired girl seemed to understand the question. But before she could speak the sound of a hunting horn echoed from out of the forest.

Flashes of silver dashed through the forest. The faces of those present twisted into various expressions. The dark haired girl wore a snarl, the blonde boy had a look of exasperation, the stalker kid looked awed and the small blonde girl had a slight grin on her face.

"No," Thorn growled. "It cannot be—"

His sentence was cut short as what looked like a streak of moonlight shot out of the trees. A silver arrow then protruded from Thorn's shoulder.

He staggered back and let out a roar of agony as he held his wounded body part.

"Curse you!" Thorn cried. With a swipe of his tail he let loose dozens of spikes into the forest. Only for them to be intercepted by a volley of silver arrows. The spines and arrows shatter in midair and fall into the snow.

A dozen girls in walk out of the forest. Each dressed in silver and carrying a silver bow, a determined expression on their faces.

Percy watches them as they approach. He can feel the faint traces of an aspect ingrained in their bodies. A flash of silver hair and the glimpse of a curved blade pass through his mind. These girls were a far cry from her power but nonetheless held some semblance to the kindred spirit he once fought.

"The hunters!" The blonde girl shouted, breaking Percy from his reverie.

One of the archers walked forward, with a grace in her form as she draws an arrow. She was dressed like the others, except for a silver circlet that adorned her long black hair. "Permission to kill milady?"

"This is not fair!" Thorn wailed. "Direct interference is against the Ancient Laws!"

"Not so," A smaller girl walked forth. She was young, around twelve or so, with auburn hair and silver eyes. But that what caught Percy's attention was the massive amount of power that rivaled hers. 'Could it be her?' Percy thought as he looked at the small childlike girl. He knew a few things from his memories of the league. Aspects, while able to die in combat, could possess new bodies. This brought a small spark of hope in his soul that he wasn't totally alone.

"—permission granted." The girl said.

The beast growled. "If I cannot have him alive, then I shall have him dead!"

Percy watched as Thorn lunged at him. His teeth were bared and claws out as he drew closer. Time seemed to slow down, and Percy reacted to the attempted attack by grabbing Thorn's wrists and pushing the large beast back with minimal effort. In his ears he could hear the drowned-out shouts of the others around him.

With a swift kick, Percy nailed Thorn in the chest, pushing him away. The twang of a dozen bows strings sounded out as they all fired in unison. Out of the corner of his eye, Percy saw the girl with the spear and shield rushing in a panic past him.

The arrows struck true in various parts of Thorns body. He staggered back. "This is not the end huntress! You shall pay!" He shouted and leapt off the cliff. But one thing made Percy feel a small piece of panic. The blonde girl was riding on the back of Thorn as they both tumbled from the cliff.

The shield girl cried out as she tried yet failed to save her friend. The anguish, the pain, the sadness in her eyes. He remembers it, his last memory. And he hates it, he hates that look in her eyes, the desperation that adorns her face. Its unexplainable but a fire that he had thought long since extinguished sparks to life.

His feet are already moving, his hand tightens around cold metal as an anchor scrapes through the snow. Then without a second thought he leaps over the edge.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thalia groaned internally as Zoe Nightshade stepped forward. Thalia had never gotten along with the Lieutenant of the Hunt. Never being able to stand her haughty attitude and cold demeanor.

"Permission to kill milady?" She asked

"This is not fair! Direct interference is against the Ancient Laws!" Thorn wailed.

"Not so," A smaller girl said as she walked forward. Thalia knew that she was the goddess Artemis, since she had met her years before while on the run. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my domain. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at Zoe. "Zoe, permission granted."

Thorn growled. "If I cannot him alive, then I shall have him dead!"

Thalia watched as the manticore lunged at the raven-haired boy that was his hostage. His teeth and claws were bared, to tear him apart.

"No!" Thalia heard Annabeth shout as she charged the monster. The boy though had no problems as he caught a hold of Thorns limbs, keeping him at bay. Thorn's hind legs digging into the ground as he tries to push him. Annabeth however didn't stop as she jumped onto the manticore's back and started stabbing him.

"Annabeth!" Thalia shouted as Percy kicked Thorn away. She heard Zoe signal the hunters to fire and watched as they filled Thorn's body with arrows.

"This is not the end huntress! You shall pay!" Thorn roared and leapt off the cliff. Thalia runs as fast as her legs can carry her. The military helicopter that had been hovering nearby opens fire, but Thalia pays no mind even when the goddess turns it into a conspiracy of ravens. (Not even kidding, that's what they are called.)

"Annabeth!" Thalia called out as she stopped at the edge, fear and panic coursing through her mind. She only stopped as she felt the thud of heavy footsteps and scraping metal filled her ears. As she turned the raven-haired boy rushed past her, carrying a massive anchor in his hand.

'Where did that come from?' She thought, but she pushed that thought away to try and stop him, only to watch as he jumped over the cliff. "No." She cried as her legs gave out beneath her. She had lost them. Two people that she was supposed to protect, to bring back to camp, and she had failed.

"Four demigods and a satyr milady." She heard from behind her. Thalia grit her teeth as anger began to overshadow the pain of loss.

"Zoe Nightshade." Thalia said, her voice laced with anger.

Zoe's eyes traveled to the daughter of Zeus. "You." She said with evident distaste.

"We had everything handled till you showed up." Thalia spat heatedly.

Zoe narrowed her eyes. "Tis no fault of ours that thy companions chose to dive off the cliff." She said icily.

"You bitch." Thalia growled.

Zoe's eyes widened. She stepped forward and raised her hand as if to smack Thalia.

"That is enough Zoe." The goddess interjected. "She is merely—"

But the goddess was cut from her sentence as the sound of heavy chains rattling filled the air. Then a massive anchor erupted from the cliff face, soaring into the air before arcing down to earth. The demigods, hunters and satyr quickly moved out of the way as it landed, causing a massive crater in the ground, the anchor digging in. The massive chain went taut and shook. A moment later Percy Jackson was pulled over the edge of the cliff, holding Annabeth under his arm like a sack of potatoes. With a flick of his wrist the anchor dislodged itself from the earth and retracted back into his hand.

"Annabeth!" Thalia and Grover shouted, and the campers rushed over to the girl as Percy placed her on the ground. His face was as emotionless as stone as they crowded the girl.

"Will, is she ok?" Thalia asked as Will looked Annabeth over for injuries.

"She'll be ok." Will said as he looked over her body. "She has some bruising on her ribs but otherwise she's fine."

Thalia let out a breath of relief. She then looked up at the tall boy standing near them. Electric blue met green and orange and Thalia gave a grateful smile. "Thank you." She said.

Percy nods at her, the slight twitch upwards of his lip was almost unnoticeable but it was the only hint of appreciation that he showed towards the comment.

"Your companion is well." Artemis said as she walked over. "That is good. She shows the bravery of a maiden." She said, though she was not even acknowledging Percy's existence, or at least that's what Thalia would have thought if her uneven body language and eyes didn't show that she was slightly uncomfortable in his presence.

"My hunters are setting up camp as we speak. It would be best for you all to come with us as I have questions for some of you." Artemis said, her eyes holding a soft look as she looked at Annabeth and then Bianca.

"Woah. Were not going any where with anyone." Bianca said in a panicked voice. "We don't even know any of you."

Artemis looked at the young girl and gave a small smile. "I am Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt."


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Percy Jackson is property of Rick Riordan and League of Legends is property of Riot Games

Chapter 2

'All right, its official.' Bianca thought, 'These people are crazy.' She stared at the girl, no goddess—no! She was just a girl, albeit a delusional one.

This however didn't seem to faze that Grover kid, actually he seemed to be enthralled at the mention of who she was. "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so… you're so… Wow!"

"Shut up, Goat boy!" The punk girl snapped, making Grover flinch at her.

Bianca looked around to see if anyone else was actually buying this. Nico seemed to be ecstatic about meeting a goddess. Those other kids that came with Grover seemed to not even give the girl a second glance, well except the blonde boy, but he was busy applying first aid to the girl that fell off the cliff with Dr. Thorn, whatever he was. Percy held a blank face but his hid was tilted in what she could assume was a questioning manor. Ok so maybe she isn't alone in all of this…maybe.

"Whoa," Bianca said. "Hold up. Time out."

Everyone's attention turned to her and it took all she had not to shrink away from the attention. She never liked having so many eyes on her.

"Who are you people." Bianca said as she pointed a finger between them.

The auburn haired girl—Artemis was her name—gave Bianca a soft and reassuring smile. "It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you? Who are your parents?"

Her parents? Bianca didn't even remember her parents, and Nico was far to young to know. "Our parents are dead," Bianca said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust in our name that pays for our school, but…"

Bianca tried to tell them, but the words died in her throat as she saw the looks of pity across their faces.

"I'm telling the truth!" Bianca exclaimed.

"You are a half-blood," The tall copper toned girl—Zoe, Bianca heard she was called—stated in an accent that was hard to place. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."

"An Olympian… athlete?" Bianca asked hoping she would say yes.

"No, One of the gods." Zoe said. And like that Bianca's hopes were thrown out the window and into oncoming traffic.

"Cool!" Nico exclaimed as he came out from behind his sister.

"No!" Bianca exclaimed, the stress becoming overwhelming. "This is not cool!"

Nico though began to jump around like a kid in a candy store. "Does Zeus really have lightning bots that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"

"Nico, shut up!" Bianca snapped, she put her hands to her face. "This isn't your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"

The punk girl looked at Bianca and her angry face softened a little. "Bianca, I know its hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well… Our lives are dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Bianca said slowly, and the punk girl nodded. "Like monster vice principals, attacking us dangerous?" Again, the girl nodded.

"Just like those guys back in D.C." Nico said, pulling on her sleeve. "I told you they were weird."

Now Bianca's mind was racing as her memory was starting to clear up. Those guys in the alley, that bus driver. Just how many of these monsters had been following them?

She then turned to Percy, a pleading look in her eyes. "Please tell me you don't believe in any of this?" She asked. He was her last hope of normalcy in all of this.

He stared back at her with his mismatched eyes. She felt a cold shiver go down her spine as she looked into them.

"The aspects are real." Was all he said and like that she felt like her world was falling down around her. She didn't even notice the raised eyebrow the goddess gave at the term, nor the narrowing of the eyes of the two dark haired girls.

* * *

'Aspects.' That word was rolling around in Thalia's head as soon as the boy—Percy spoke. For some reason that word seemed to strike a cord with her.

She looked around at the others to see if they caught the word but no one else seemed to pay it much mind. Artemis just had a raised brow, but it was only for a brief moment before her face reverted to its natural stoicism. The one person that seemed to be just as caught off guard as her however was the Lieutenant of the hunt, Zoe.

"We've burdened these children enough," Artemis announced, drawing all attention to herself. "Zoe, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."

"Yes, my lady." Zoe complied and walked off towards the school.

"Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you." Artemis said. Thalia could only shake her head internally at that. She knew what the goddess wanted, but Thalia couldn't even imagine how selfish you needed to be to throw everyone and everything you know just to go running around the country with a group of spiteful girls.

"What about me?" Nico asked. Oh, that poor boy, he didn't even know what was happening.

Artemis kept a steady gaze on the boy. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while… as a favor to me?"

Grover nearly tripped over himself trying to make himself presentable. "You bet! Come on, Nico!"

Gods dammit Grover.

Nico and Grover walked away with talking about random nerd things, while Artemis led a confused looking Bianca along the cliff, while the hunters began to set up camp.

Thalia's gaze met Zoe's and she exchanged glares before the lieutenant strode off.

Thalia turned and decided that her attention would be better placed on looking after Annabeth.

"Hey Will," Thalia said, turning to her blonde companion. "How is she."

"Fine for the most part." Will began to pack up tools and bandages from a first aid kit he brought. "Like I said before, she has some bruising in her ribs and the unconsciousness is just from shock." He stood up and looked at Thalia. "Its nothing a little nectar and Ambrosia won't fix."

Thalia let out a small sigh of relief. She had almost lost Annie, who was basically her little sister. Luke had disappeared after the whole bolt fiasco. Not that she was around for it as she was a tree at the time. But the thought of losing what little of her family she had left…no she didn't want to think about that. She then turned to the tall boy next to her, to distract herself from those thoughts if nothing else. He had been silently watching the entire time and Thalia almost forgot he was even there. _Almost. _

"So," She said getting his attention. "I guess we'll just keep you company."

He only gave a brief nod in response.

"You're, ah, not much of a talker, are you?" She asked. The only response was a blank stare. "Well since you already seem to know about the gods, do you know who your godly parent is?" Again, a blank stare. The punk girl began to bounce on the balls of her feet, not really knowing how to talk to the guy. "So, I'll take that as a no?" It came more as a question than a statement. "Well, my names Thalia. I don't believe you told me yours? She already knew his name from Grover, but she wanted him to at least say something.

The tall demigod stared at the shorter demigoddess for a moment. "Percy Jackson." Was his curt reply. His voice was low but clear.

"Well Percy. I just wanted to say thanks, for rescuing my friend." She motioned over to the unconscious blonde.

He just hummed in response.

Thalia felt an awkward silence fall upon them as they stood there. "So that Anchor?" She asked, gesturing to the large metal mass next to him. "Where'd you get it?" The girl eyed the anchor. It was easily as tall as herself, if not more so. And judging by the crater that it left it easily weighed more than it looked.

"All ways had it." Percy simply replied.

"Do you mind if I try lifting it?" Thalia asked. Percy just shrugged and lifted the unorthodox weapon, placing it in front of her. "All right." Thalia said as she rubbed her hands together. "Let's see what you're made of." With both of hands she grabbed a hold of the anchor. The metal was cool in her hands as she gripped it. In her head she counted.

One. Two. Three

Thalia pulled with all of her strength, but the anchor didn't budge. Three. She tried again but again it didn't move. She placed her foot on it and tried to pull it, hoping that she could pull it down at the very least, her muscles burned as she tried to move but it was all for naught as the anchor stayed in its position.

"How much does this weigh?" She said in a gasp. The anchor didn't move in the slightest no matter what she did.

"Enough." Percy replied.

"I think its been long enough. Hey Will." Thalia called out to the blonde archer, who turned to look at her. "I think that we should head over to their camp. They probably have it set up by now."

"Ok, but…" Will looked over to Annabeth's still unconscious form. "Someone's going to have to help carry her."

Thalia let out a huff. "I'll grab her legs and you grab her…" Thalia began to talk until she noticed Percy walk past her and over to Annabeth. Without any warning he grabbed Annabeth and tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

H-Hey!" Thalia and Will protested at Percy.

"She's still injured. You need to be more careful." Will scolded. Percy had the decency to look abashed as Will scolded him. After a few moments of Will instructing, Percy awkwardly shuffling and Thalia laughing at him, Percy was finally carrying Annabeth princess style.

* * *

They were only left alone for a few minutes at best, yet the hunters were able to put up their tents in that time. To Percy that was a somewhat respectable skill in its own regard. The tents were all pure silver and arranged into a crescent. All around the border of the camp dogs and falcons sat and watched him as he moved around. Their eyes fixed on him in a deadly focus, but their unease was apparent to everyone as the animals all backed away from Percy when ever he got to close.

The Hunters glared at him with utter disdain. Whether it was because the animals didn't like him or the fact that he was carrying an unconscious girl in his arms he didn't know, all though they were also sending the glares to the blonde boy, Will was his name, as well. Though Thalia was giving just as many glares as they got.

The small group along with Nico had set up their own spot away from the group of girls. Percy's bag as well as who he assumed were Nico and Grover's bags were placed there. The Hunters must have gotten it at some point, not that Percy cared as he didn't really have anything worth keeping in there.

Percy placed the blonde onto the ground and Will pulled out a flask of some kind from his bag and poured it into the girls mouth. The color on her face began to return and her breathing became better.

Slowly she opened up her eyes and got up from the ground. "Annie!" Thalia said and rushed over to the blonde. "Are you still hurt? How many fingers am I holding up? Do you remember your name?" Thalia began to question the girl, who was now dubbed Annie in Percy's mind.

"Thalia stop it." She pushed Thalia away. "I'm feeling fine."

"Sorry Annie." Thalia said with an apologetic half smile. "I just thought that I lost you when you went over the cliff. The wasn't the smartest idea that you've had."

"I'm sorry for worrying you Thalia. I guess you right." Annie said all though she had a constipated look as she admitted she was wrong.

"Who knows what would have happened if he didn't jump after you." Thalia said as she pointed back towards Percy.

Annabeth blinked as she got a good look at her supposed savior. Her eyes seemed to be looking over him as if trying to find something out about him.

"Hello Annie." Percy said breaking the girl from her gaze. After all it was polite to introduce yourself. However, the girl didn't seem to care about this as her eye seemed to twitch at the name.

"It's Annabeth actually." She said with a strained smile.

Percy blinked. He turned his head to Thalia. She seemed to understand the unasked question. "She doesn't like it when other people call her Annie." She whispered in his ear.

Percy hummed in response.

"Percy Jackson." A feminine voice called out. All heads turned to the source to find the Zoe girl standing near their small encampment. Her dark brown eyes looked over Percy with a cold expression.

"Come with me," She said. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee."

* * *

Zoe didn't really see why they needed the male's input in the story. They seemed to have a good enough grasp on what had happened from Bianca DiAngelo. But her mistress asked for the male to join so she will comply with it.

She found the male standing around with the campers, not even contributing with anything. 'Typical.' She thought to herself. Though she was glad once she noticed the blonde-haired maiden was fine.

"Percy Jackson." She said. This earned her the attention of all those present. The male known as Percy stood up straight, easily surpassing her in height. His heterochromatic eyes set on her. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee."

Zoe didn't even wait for a response as she left. The male in question however didn't even question her and followed after her. As she went, she noticed that the other hunters were all glaring at the male behind her and she internally smiled, hoping that he was squirming at their gazes. What she didn't notice however was how unaffected Percy was from their gazes.

Zoe quickly made her way to the largest tent. The tent glowed under the moonlight unlike the other tents and the large crescent moon on the flap signified that it belonged to her mistress.

She walked over to the flap and ushered the him in before stepping inside herself. Zoe was always impressed whenever she entered her ladies tent. The walls were lined with animal furs and trophies that were so meticulously well taken care of that one would be baffled if they heard that they were hunted centuries ago.

Artemis herself sat in front of a golden brazier that burned without fuel, a hind sat rested comfortably in her lap before seeming to become increasingly agitated and quickly leaving the caress of the goddess and bolting out of the tent.

'How…odd?' Zoe thought to herself. She had never seen any creature of the forest act in such a way in the goddess's presence. It was so odd that Zoe almost didn't notice Bianca sitting in the tent as well, if not for the faint silver glow surrounding the girl. The lieutenant felt a bit of happiness at having a new sister.

"Join us Percy Jackson." Artemis spoke. On the surface she looked calm and composed yet to Zoe there was an underlying tenseness in her form that she only saw during their hunts. As if she were ready to strike at a moment's notice.

The Jackson boy sat on the opposite side of the hearth, meeting Artemis's gaze full on, not seeming to fold under the look like so many others had before.

'At least thee has a spine.' She thought before walking over to the goddess's side and sitting down. She threw a cold glare which went unnoticed by the boy.

"You don't seem surprised by my age?" Artemis asked.

The raven-haired demigod tilted his head in what could be assumed as a questioning manner. "Am I supposed to?"

"No," Artemis replied. "But most usually question if a twelve-year-old is a goddess."

"Aspects take many forms." The boy spoke. 'Aspects' again he used that word and yet Zoe couldn't help but focus on it. "Age doesn't matter."

Artemis nodded at him, seemingly ignoring being called an aspect for whatever reason. 'She probably thinks the male is simply foolish.' Zoe thought.

"That however isn't of much importance." Artemis spoke. "Bianca has already told us of some of the…disturbing things that the monster said. But I would prefer to have a second source to support the information."

The boy closed his eyes and began to retell of the events that transpired. Zoe found some of it a bit outlandish as he described the manticore as weak, but her goddess didn't interrupt him, so she held her tongue and instead internally monologued about how arrogant and boastful the male was. After he finished his side of the tale Artemis began to stroke her bow absentmindedly.

"I feared this was the answer." The goddess said in a grave tone.

Zoe immediately knew what she was referring to as she herself had come upon scents and traces of ancient beasts that haven't appeared in centuries if not longer. "The scent, my lady?"

"Yes." Was the only reply that she got.

"Tell me again what Dr. Thorn said." She asked the boy once again.

"Talked about a General." He simply said.

Zoe felt like the blood in her body turn cold as ice. She hoped that the boy had heard wrong or was lying. She silently prayed that it wasn't him. She opened her mouth to say something, but Artemis held her hand, which made Zoe hold her tongue.

"Go on." She instructed

"He spoke of a stirring and monsters." He said with a tone that could only be called uninterested and it was starting to irk Zoe with just how uncaring the boy was.

"Anything else he might have said. Any more details."

"Monster army, destroying Olympus, a mighty beast they will catch." He said in a flat tone.

It didn't take long before Zoe had reached her limit. She never did have much patience for males in the first place. "Take this seriously boy." She growled. "Theses are things of importance that are above thee."

"Zoe!" Artemis said her name in a stern tone. The lieutenant sat back down and settled on glaring at the boy, but he just adopted a slight look of confusion on his face.

"Serious?" He asked like he didn't understand what she wanted. "Been serious. Answered questions like Diana wanted." He spoke.

That brought a stall to both the ancient huntresses. Zoe looked at the goddess as she saw her briefly flicker forms before settling back.

"Bianca, I think its best if you leave." The goddess said to the girl who had stayed quiet during the entire questioning. "Go speak with the other hunters they will give you what you need." Her instructions were simple, but her tone left no room for argument.

Cautiously the girl stood up and walked towards the tent flaps to exit, but not before stopping next to the demigod, though she seemed to stand a bit farther away from him than before, and seemed nervous to get any closer. "I'm sorry Percy, I want this. I really do." She said in a soft voice before leaving. The male just looked confused at her apology, like he didn't understand why she was doing it in the first place.

Once she had left the room a tense silence started as both huntresses gave the boy a scrutinizing gaze, the boy in question just met them with a stoic look.

"How do you know that name?" Artemis asked, her question straight to the point.

"Diana?" He simply replied but it was enough for the moon goddess to momentarily switch forms before switching back. Artemis grimaced as the shift occurred.

"Yes, that one." She said tensely.

"She is…moon aspect." He replied.

"But thou shouldn't know to call her that." Zoe said in a frosty tone. "Thou is Greek."

The demigod just responded with a shrug of his shoulders. By the gods this boy was testing her patience with his denseness. Artemis however stared directly into his eyes.

"And do you know of Jupiter, Juno, Neptune?" The goddess listed off the Roman gods. Zoe could see that she was consciously trying to restrain herself from changing as she spoke.

The boy once again tilted his head in a questioning manner. "Who?"

Artemis stared at him with an analytical gaze as she tried to find something out about him, but Zoe herself was not having any luck as the male's face never really shifted out of its stoic expression.

"You…don't know." Artemis finally spoke but she sounded slightly unsure. "Just know that I am Artemis. Goddess of the hunt and moon. I am not Diana."

The male's head dipped a little as if he were disappointed with the fact. This boy was just plain confusing at this point.

"I think that that is all for now. Dawn is approaching and I suggest that you tell those that you are with that we shall be leaving shortly." Artemis said.

The male gave a brief nod and left without another word.

As soon as he was out of the flaps the moon goddess greatly relaxed, as if a burden had just been lifted off her shoulders all at once. "That boy… is not normal."

"I do not know my lady. He seems like any of the other males." Zoe scoffed.

Artemis sent a raised brow to her lieutenant. "Did you not feel the aura he had?"

"Aura, my lady" Zoe asked.

"The feeling, his presence, however you want to call it. Being near him felt suffocating, crushing even."

"I don't understand my lady. I felt no such feeling." Zoe said. She had never once felt anything of the sort coming from the boy.

Artemis narrowed her eyes in concentration before letting out a sigh. "I don't know what to think of that boy, but right now it matters not. I have a hunt to get ready for."

"Of course, my lady. I'll inform the other hunters before we—" Zoe spoke before Artemis cut her off.

"No. I must do this hunt alone. You will take the hunters and stay at the camp until I return."

"But my lady!" Zoe protested.

"That is final Zoe." Artemis commanded.

"Y—Yes my lady." Zoe said in a dejected tone.

"Good. Now I want you to inform the hunters about the decision. I will send a prayer to my brother to take you to camp."

"Of course." Zoe said and then turned around to leave but stopped when Artemis called her name.

"Zoe." Said huntress turned around and looked at the goddess. "Keep an eye on that boy, there is something different about him that I can't place." The lieutenant of the hunt simply nodded, but internally she was confused as to why she placed so much interest in the male but decided not to question it. If her lady thought it was important than she would tell her. That's what thousands of years of trust earns you in the lieutenant's mind.

* * *

Ever since Annabeth had woken up Thalia and Will had been all over her like a pair of helicopter parents. Ok, Will she could understand since he was one of the best healers in the Apollo cabin, so it was his job to look over her, but Thalia was kinda pushing it. That and with the hunters present she wasn't in the best of moods. The blonde had a feeling that if it weren't for the dark-haired girls glares, they probably would have been approached with brochures about joining the hunt just like they were years ago. Back when it was just her, Thalia, and Lu—.

'No, stop thinking about him. He left. He's a traitor.' She mentally scolded herself. She let out an internal sigh as she shifted to get close to the fire that Will had set for them. Off to her side she watched Grover and that kid Nico look over his cards and action figures. She remembered to call them action figures in her mind after that horrid incident with one of her siblings when she called them dolls. She unconsciously shivered at the rage of the fanboy.

But back to her thoughts, the one person that really interested her was here supposed savior. This Percy Jackson. She had gotten the story from Thalia and Will how he jumped off the cliff to save her after fending off the manticore. Its not that she wasn't grateful, but she found herself questioning how the newly found demigod was able to fight off a beast that three of them couldn't beat.

But speaking of the devil, said demigod just walked back to their little encampment after his supposed chat with the moon goddess.

"So, what did she want?" Thalia asked.

'Leave it to Thalia to get to the point.' Annabeth thought.

"Just questions." Percy said plainly.

Annabeth raised a brow. "Questions about what?"

"Monster." He simply replied.

That was not exactly much information for the blonde. She was about to question him more, but Thalia seemed to understand him. "So, she asked you about the manticore." She said with a smirk. The dark-haired boy nodded his head. "Ha, probably wanted to see what kind of male stole her prey." She said in a slight mocking tone. "Did they say anything else?"

"Leave at dawn."

"What? Why?" Annabeth asked but she only got shrugged shoulders in response. This slightly irked her internally. As a daughter of Athena, she hated not knowing things and this guy's short and simple responses weren't exactly working for her. Nor the fact that she couldn't get a read on the guy. His face betrayed no expressions to give away what he was feeling and remained stoic and calm.

Nothing really happened after that. We ended up waiting for a maybe half an hour or so before we were all on a nearby hill waiting for the sun to rise according to Artemis. Those of us that weren't associated with the hunt stood on the snowy hilltop shivering in the alight breeze that rolled through. The only one that didn't seem bothered was Percy, yet another thing that seemed odd about the boy but not enough of importance to give it much thought.

"How much longer do we have to wait?" Thalia asked as she shivered through her jacket.

"Not much longer." The goddess said. "My brother should be here soon, but he's always lazy in the winter so it could take longer." Then as if following her words, the sun began to appear over the horizon.

"Everyone shield your eyes until he parks." The goddess ordered.

'Parks?' Annabeth thought but she shielded her eyes as the light began to increase to the point that she could feel the heat coming off of the source, warming her body from the cold. When she opened her eyes she saw a red sports car parked in the grass, the metal seemed to glow from the heat it emitted. Annabeth had to stop herself from facepalming at her own obliviousness. Artemis said her brother and parks. That meant that they were going to get a ride from Lord Apollo in the sun chariot.

The door of the sports car opened up and out stepped what could easily be one of the best-looking men that Annabeth had ever seen. The demigoddess felt a blush rise to her cheeks as she looked at the god. She barely heard it, but she was sure that Thalia had whispered something along the lines of Apollo being hot. She had to agree as the blonde headed god smiled at the group, his teeth so white that you could have used him as a flashlight.

"Little sis!" Apollo called out "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"

Artemis let out a sigh. "I'm fine Apollo. And I'm not your little sister."

"Hey, I was born first." He responded. Though Annabeth wanted to tell him that Artemis was born first in the myths but refrained from doing so as gods could be a bit temperamental about random things.

"We're twins. How many times must I tell you—"

"So, what's up?" Apollo asked, cutting his sister off mid rant. "Got the girls with you, I see. You need some—wait is that Will? How are you doing kiddo?" Apollo said with a wide grin as he waved to his son.

"I'm doing good dad." Will said as he gave a small smile.

"Well maybe you and I can teach the girls a few tips an—"

"Apollo." Artemis said through grit teeth. "I called you here because I need a favor. I have some hunting to do alone. I need you to take my companions to camp half blood."

"Sure sis." The sun god said and then raised his hands in a stop manor. "I feel a haiku coming on."

The hunters all groaned. Apollo cleared his throat.

"_Green grass breaks through snow."_

"_Artemis pleads for my help."_

"_I am so cool."_

He grinned at everyone, his face held a look of expectation, like he was waiting for us to applaud.

"Bad." A voice deadpanned and Annabeth looked over to see that it was Percy that spoke.

The effect was immediate as Apollo began to sulk at the criticism.

"Oh, stop whining you big baby. I need to set out for my hunt, so you need to take them back to camp already.

"Ok little sis." Apollo said and once more he was back at happy. "Good thing I was ready to roll.

"These demigods will also need a ride," Artemis then pointed to us. "Some of Chiron's campers."

"No problem!" Apollo looked us over before his eyes landed on Percy and his gaze shifted from jovial to one of intense focus for a moment. The daughter of Athena noticed this and couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

"Well we better load up." Apollo said, switching back to his regular tone." This ride only goes one way. West."

"Um lord Apollo?" Annabeth asked, earning the attention of said god. "How are we supposed to fit in it?"

"Oh." He responded as he looked a back at the steaming sports car. "That is a problem. Normally I don't like switching it off sports car mode but…" He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a key fob and pressed the security alarm button. Immediately the car flashed in a bright light and where was one a sports car now sat a large shuttle bus big enough for everyone. "All right, all aboard." He shouted happily, like an old timey conductor.

The girl Zoe ordered the rest of the hunters to start packing their things in the bus, then she grabbed a pack herself only to be stopped by Apollo. "Here sweet heart. Let me help."

The huntress didn't seem to take to kind to that as she glared murderously at the god.

"Brother." Artemis chided. "Don't look at, touch, flirt, or even talk to my hunters. And don't call them sweet heart."

Apollo spread his hands out in a placating manor. "Right, right. So where are you off to anyways."

"Hunting," Artemis said. "Its none of your business."

"I'll find out. I see all. Know all."

The goddess let out a snort. "I'll see you at the winter solstice." She then turned to her lieutenant. "Zoe, you are in charge of the Hunters. Do well." Annabeth then watched the goddess walk away and disappear into the forest.

She then watched as the hunters piled into the bus without a word, leaving the campers and the sun god outside.

"Well come, were burning daylight." Apollo said as he laughed at his own joke and walked over to the bus. Everyone started to pile into the bus until it got to Percy's turn. The demigod took a slow step, Annabeth wasn't sure why until he put his foot down on the step in the door way and that corner of the bus lowered by a lot. The suspension squeaked a little at the sudden shift in weight. Those that were in the bus lurched forward.

"Jeez man." Apollo said with wide eyes as he looked at Percy. "What do you weigh?" The boy though looked away in what could only be taken as embarrassment before going to sit don in an empty seat towards the middle of the bus. Most of the other occupants that saw looked a bit stunned at the boy who looked away and began to rub the fabric around his neck.

'Probably a coping mechanism out of habit." Annabeth thought as she took a seat near Thalia and Grover. She was hopping for a nice ride back to camp so that she can look over the sun chariot as it flew and see how it worked.

"All right everyone," Apollo called out. The keys to the chariot were in his hands. "Who wants to drive. I'm thinking Thalia." He said with a smile that didn't seem like he would take no for an answer.

Annabeth saw Thalia pale in complexion and wondered if she ad as well. 'I guess this won't be a nice ride after all.' She thought.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson is property of Rick Riordan and League of Legends is property of Riot Games**

**Chapter 3**

As the Hunters were the first ones to board the magical chariot turned bus, that meant that they were the first to pick their seats, not that Percy really cared. The group of girls were all huddled in the back of the bus, talking to each other and occasionally sending the demigod a glare, to which he returned with a blank look.

Percy decided that it was better not to get involved with the group as it would only become an annoyance and decided to sit in the middle of the bus. He knew that he weighed more than others. It was something that he was a bit self-conscious about but there was nothing that he could do about it. Its not like he was fat or overly bulky or even unhealthy so there wasn't really a way for him to lose weight. This did limit where he could sit in vehicles, as a few times he sat on one end of the vehicle and threw the balance of the vehicle out of whack.

Percy watched as the rest of those 'campers', as the false aspect referred to them as, board the bus along with the other false aspect. The man gave off the same feeling as that golden woman, but his personality seemed vastly different from the sun warrior. Percy didn't want to get his hopes up, so he just decided that the golden man was a lost cause to look into since he barely had any traits similar to the woman.

"All right everyone," The golden man spoke. "Who wants to drive? I'm thinking Thalia." He dangled a pair of car keys in front of him. Percy watched as the raven-haired girl paled at the idea.

"L-Lord Apollo I don't think—" She tried to say but was interrupted by the man.

"Nonsense. Daughter of Zeus, Lord of the sky. Perfect."

"No thank you." Thalia shook her head.

"C'mon," Apollo teased. "It'll be easy." The man then snapped his fingers and the girl appeared in the driver's seat. "Maine to long island is a short trip. And you have nothing to worry about. It's not like your dad is going to blast you out of the sky." The man said with a laugh; however, the humor didn't spread to the rest of the passengers.

"Don't worry." Apollo said patting Thalia on the shoulder." You're gonna be a natural. Just remember that speed equals heat, so start slowly before you're high enough to open her up."

The girl gripped the wheel tightly and looked to be on the verge of panicking.

"Hey Thalia," The weird Grover kid asked. "You ok?"

"Y-Yeah," Thalia said shakily. "Totally fine." Percy didn't believe her, she looked far too tense to be okay. Thalia pulled back on the wheel and stepped on the pedal causing the bus to rocket forward into the sky. The other passengers were all thrown backwards, and Grover who was standing was flung down the aisle. Percy stuck his hand and caught the goat boy by the collar of his shirt as he was rolling down the aisle.

"Oh, ah, thanks." Grover said but paled when he saw who had helped him. He then quickly scurried away and sat next to Nico who was closer to the front. Percy looked out the window and watched as they broke the cloud layer and made it to airplane height. There was a small hollow feeling in his body at the blatant rejection, but he pushed that aside.

He barely payed attention as the other passengers began to shout at Thalia for her driving, and just watched as the towns below passed by and at one point the towns even were set on fire. There was even a few times lightning almost hit the bus. That was certainly an interesting occurrence to the demigod.

A scream sounded out breaking Percy from his musing and Apollo flew down the aisle as the bus pitched higher. Percy decided that it was enough and stepped out into the aisle. He held onto the seat with one hand to keep his balance as Apollo slammed into his chest.

"Oh, hey man." Apollo said as he looked up at Percy. The sun god let out a nervous chuckle as he met Percy's blank stare. "Woah!" He shouted as Percy grabbed him by the waist band of his pants and hauled him to the front of the bus forcefully.

"Switch." Percy spoke as he stopped at the driver's seat. Thalia looked incredibly tense as she gripped the wheel. Her eyes fully focused on the sky in front of her, the nervousness she was emitting was clear to anyone with eyes.

"I'm fine." Thalia said through grit teeth. Her knuckles turned white as she didn't bother looking at Percy.

'So stubborn.' Percy inwardly thought, he briefly remembered a certain red head who had that same problem but he pushed it to the side as he dropped Apollo, the sun god letting out a grunt as he feel to the floor. Percy grabbed Thalia by the waist, causing the girl let out a yelp as she was lifted out of the seat but kept a secure grip on the wheel. However, it only took a slight tug from Percy before he had her out of the seat and over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Hey! Let me go!" She shouted from over Percy's shoulder. He could feel the glare she was sending him without even looking. Percy then grabbed Apollo and forcibly shoved him into the driver's seat. The sun god let out an indignant 'Hey' as Percy turned and walked back down the aisle with the daughter of Zeus over his shoulder, he could feel her pounding his back the entire time but didn't care. It's not like it hurt him, it actually felt more like someone was tapping him on the back. Percy then unceremoniously plopped her into an empty seat and sat in the seat opposite of hers.

"I had that under control." She scowls.

Percy gave her a blank stare as the bus leveled out. "…Sure" He deadpans.

Thalia gave a huff as she sank back into the seat and just went about looking at the floor. Percy just shrugged and just sat back into his seat. However, he could feel the sudden glares on at his back from what he assumed were the hunters, most likely because of how he handled Thalia.

"All right everyone get ready to get off. We're about to land." Apollo called out. As the bus began to descend until it came to a stop. The snow on the ground melted into a perfect circle, leaving a patch of green grass around the vehicle. A large group of people then began to crowd around the bus. "Alright everyone. Last stop is here." Apollo shouted as he opened the bus doors.

Percy, along with the rest of the passengers all filed out of the bus, the hunters mostly grumbling about random things as they eyed the campers with distaste. He watched as Bianca took her brother away and talked to him in whispered tones, but the conversation didn't seem to go well as the younger sibling walked away with a scowl.

"Take care sweethearts!" Apollo shouted from the bus, drawing Percy's attention away. "Watch out for those pesky prophecies." He gave a wink at the hunters, who returned the sun gods advances with scowls. He then ducked back into the bus and took off in a blast of intense heat.

* * *

**X**

* * *

Thalia watched as the Sun chariot flew off into the sky and felt the heat of the chariot leave the area, only to be replaced by the cold of winter. "Come on." Thalia called out to Percy and Nico. "I'll introduce you to Chiron and then we can get you all sorted out."

"Who's Chiron? I don't think I have his figurine." Nico asked. Thalia noticed that he seemed to be lacking in the energy and enthusiasm of before but didn't question it.

"He's our activities director. You know Chiron, the trainer of heroes." She explained. Then all at once it seemed like the enthusiasm was brought back.

"Like the guy that trained Achilles! And Hercules and…"

"Yeah all those guys and more." Thalia interrupted him before he could start spouting off about stats and damage multipliers and other nerdy things. She really didn't know how long she would last before she electrocuted him if he did.

Thalia led the two over to the big house, and she noticed Will and Annabeth head over to their own cabins, probably to change to something less warm. Even though it snowed at the camp the weather was controlled so you would be fine with just a hoodie for warmth here. That didn't account for the magical fire balls that floated around the cabins and Big House, keeping things warm but not managing to set anything on fire.

"Thalia!" A voice called out. Thalia tracked the voice to the end of the porch of the Big House where she saw two individuals playing cards. One was a plump little man that seemed to be in an eternal hangover and smelt of traces of alcohol. The other was a man in a wheelchair with a scraggly beard and wearing a fuzzy sweater. "Ah these must be—"

"Percy Jackson and Nico DiAngelo." Thalia spoke. "These two and Nico's sister are half-bloods."

"You succeeded then." Chiron said with a smile as he looked over the two demigods, but Thalia noticed when he looked over Percy, that his smile faltered for the briefest moment he looked a little uneasy. Even Mr. D looked up from his cards and sent an analyzing look at the tall demigod before deciding that his cards were more important.

"Where are Annabeth and Will?" Chiron asked.

"Probably in their cabins doing whatever." Thalia said dismissively.

"Well I would love to hear all about what happened." Chiron said, but then Grover trotted up wearing a goofy grin on his face as well as sporting a black eye and red lines from a slap mark on his face.

"The Hunters are all moved in!" He said happily.

Thalia inwardly sighed at the satyrs apparent absurd obsession with the Hunters. She would never understand why he would willingly try to hang out with the group of girls that would probably stab him at any random moment. Sometimes she thinks that his mind is empty.

Chiron frowned. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much more to talk about than I thought." He glanced over the two boys once again, but once again his eyes stayed on Percy a moment longer than normal. "Grover, perhaps you should take these two into the den and show them the orientation film."

Grover looked between the two and he began to fidget. Thalia thought it was weird that he seemed so nervous around the Percy guy. "But…Oh right. Yes, sir."

"Orientation film?" Nico asked as he looked to Grover. "Is it G or PG? Because Bianca is kinda strict—"

"It's PG-13," Grover cut him off. Nico seemed excited at the prospect of the PG-13 film, Percy however just looked like he didn't care. The three of them disappeared into the house and Thalia sat next to Chiron and began to tell him all about what happened in Maine.

After Thalia told Chiron all about what happened in Maine, he had a very perplexed look on his face. "That is… a curious tale."

"Yeah but honestly I'm glad he was there. If he wasn't…" Thalia shook her head, trying not to think about Annabeth going over the cliff. "So, what's with the look you've been giving Percy?" Thalia asked, trying to change the subject. Ever since they met him, Thalia has noticed that people have given the heterochromatic demigod a wide berth, and even the animals at the Hunters camp along with Grover had avoided him like the plague. She didn't really understand what the big fuss was about, in fact he was pretty easy to be around in her opinion. He wasn't annoying like most other people, though he had a few quirks, she just couldn't find it in herself to get truly mad at him when he manhandled her out of the driver's seat of the sun chariot.

"What look?" Chiron asked. For a second Thalia almost believed him and if it were any other person they probably would, but she had seen enough people do that look to the demigod that she knew he was lying.

"That look that everyone's been giving him. Even Artemis and Apollo were giving him strange looks when we were with them." She pressed the centaur, trying to get more information.

"Well—" Was all that the trainer of heroes said before Grover walked out of the Big House in a fast pace, followed by an excited Nico and an ever-passive looking Percy at their own paces.

"So COOL!" Nico shouted to the heavens. He then glanced at Chiron. "You…You're a centaur!"

Chiron looked at the young boy with a grateful smile, one which Thalia noticed was because he found a way out of their conversation. "Indeed, I am Mr. DiAngelo. Though I prefer my human form for first encounters." Chiron then rolled his wheelchair back and forth to emphasis the point.

"And you're the wine dude!" Nico shouted at Mr. D. Thalia had to suppress the urge to laugh at the new nickname for the God of Wine as well as the incredulous look he was now giving the young boy.

"The wine dude?" He said with a bit of distaste, but Nico didn't seem to notice.

"Dionysus, right? Oh wow! I've got your figurine." Nico said giddily.

Thalia looked at Percy with a playful smirk as Nico was talking about his card game with the two immortals. "You got any figurines as well?" She asked jokingly.

Percy gave her a look, that despite his lacking facial expressions, she understood that it meant, 'What do you think?'

"Hey man, I'm just asking" Thalia said with a shrug of her shoulders. "You never know what people are into." Percy just gave a slight nod of accepted acceptance of her reasoning.

"Thalia." Chiron spoke, making the demigoddess turn to him. "Why don't you go down to the cabins and inform the campers of the capture the flag game we are having tomorrow. I'll take the new campers on a tour around camp."

"You sure that we have enough campers?" Thalia questioned. The number of demigods at camp had dropped to less than half since the summer ended. Now it was just the year around campers and a few that decided to stay.

"It is a tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly little match every time the Hunters come to visit."

"Yeah, real friendly." Thalia mutters to herself before she stands up and walks away from the Big House to tell the other campers about the upcoming game.

She began to make her rounds about the camp. Her first stop was the forge where she talked to the head counselor, Beckendorf. He was a man of few words, sort of like a certain new demigod. He just gave a courteous nod at the news. The next was the Aphrodite cabin, who seemed far more pumped about the match than they ever would about any other game of capture the flag. That was seriously unexpected in her eyes. The next were the Demeter, Dionysus, and Apollo cabins. They were each just excepting of the game though Thalia could see a look of determination in the eyes of the older campers. She was about to make her way to the Ares cabin to tell them next when a voice called out, one that she had come to despise since she came out of the tree.

"So, it seems that you managed to succeed in your quest." A voice called out; the tone was full of condescension.

Thalia let out a sigh as she was to drained to deal with this person at the moment. The fight with the manticore and the ride in the sun chariot were finally getting to her. She turned around to look at the newest annoyance of her day. "What do you want Josh?" She replied blandly.

Thalia looked at the boy who was standing a few feet away with a condescending look in his eyes, despite the passive face he had.

Josh was an athletic sixteen-year-old with blonde hair and grey eyes, the common trait of a son of Athena. He had been a real pain in her ass ever since she came out of the tree. A couple of years before, Josh went on a quest and managed to retrieve the stolen master bolt and managed to bring it back. Then the next year he strong armed his way onto the quest into the sea of monsters that was given to Clarisse, the daughter of Ares. Since his two apparent quests he had managed to gain a following of supporters and has held himself as a self-proclaimed leader of camp despite what some of the older campers said. He's even been holding the retrieval of the master bolt over her head like some sort of taunt. Though she did note that his usual lackey, Andy, a son of Demeter wasn't following him around like usual.

"Nothing really." He spoke in an even voice. "Just wanted to see how you were. I heard from Annabeth how you guys almost bit the dust if it weren't for the Hunters."

Thalia bit back a growl at the passive aggressive insult. Just about all the children of Athena irked her in some way, besides Annie of course. Their inherent pride and intelligence made them all condescending jack asses in one way or another, but Josh has been the most arrogant. Thalia was about to retort back, but a loud crash took her attention away.

**X**

Chiron let out a small sigh as he watched the chaos unfold before him. After Thalia had left to inform the counselors of the impending capture the flag game that was going to take place, he prompted the two new demigods to follow him for the tour of the camp.

The younger boy, Nico was his name, seemed very eager to learn more about the camp. It was this eagerness that he had seen from many campers during his role as the activities director and it always brought a smile to his face. He would look forward to seeing what kind of hero he would become, and even finding out who his parent was. Chiron had prided himself on being accurate with his guesses, not that he was 100% right when he guessed, but he usually was close to the right answer even if he was wrong. The boys dark hair could belong to any number of gods, but his dark eye color seemed to point to one of the darker deities in Greek mythology. Maybe a son of Thanatos, or even a child of Charon as rare as those were. All in all, he just hoped that the boy was claimed anyways. It filled him with grief as in recent years demigods had been abandoning the camp little by little, but he would still do his duties, nonetheless.

The other boy though… Chiron wasn't even sure what to think of him. Almost immediately Chiron could feel the boys presence. Almost like that of a gods with how palpable it was, but at the same time it was completely different. He had been in the presence of gods before and could feel the burning energy that they emitted that made a person's skin tingle. This boy however gave no such feeling, rather the feeling that his presence gave of made Charon feel like he was being pressed from all sides. Heck it was almost suffocating when he first laid eyes on the boy. It wasn't till he managed to collect himself that the suffocating feeling mostly went away, leaving the air feeling only slightly thick. Then there was the boys appearance that seemed off. Chiron could already tell that the boy had an impressive physique, one that a person couldn't have gotten without some form of extensive training, but he didn't really hold himself like a warrior. His facial features seemed very familiar, but he wasn't able to place it. And his eyes were what threw him off the most. Heterochromia was something that he had rarely seen in demigods, the number of which he could count on both hands. The children usually shared eye color with their parent but with green and orange eyes, Chiron was at a loss.

But Chiron would have to think about the tall boys parentage at a later time. He had given the boys a quick tour around the camp, showing them the arena, the lake, the forest, armory, and finally ending at Cabin eleven, where the unclaimed demigods would stay.

The trainer had just informed the Stoll twins about the two new campers that would be staying in their cabin, and once informed that both of them were unclaimed the two brothers groaned in annoyance but let them in anyways. Nico was already inside with a burst of speed that could rival some of the Hermes campers, but Percy was a bit more cautious. He looked like he was scowling at the old wooden steps of the cabin, or at least Chiron thought he was scowling. His brows only furrowed slightly, barely even noticeable for him so it was hard to tell.

Chiron didn't know what was causing the boy to wait until he put one foot on the step. Then slowly he put more weight on it, the wood creaked but held. Everything seemed fine…that is until he took his other foot off the ground and the step he was on broke into pieces.

Chiron honestly didn't think much of it more than an accident. After all the cabin has seen better days and could use some fixing, but that changed once Percy tried the second step, only for the wood to break apart like the one before. When he tried to hop onto the porch the wood collapsed into a loud crash, leaving Percy kneeling in the middle of a large hole he made in front of the door to the Hermes cabin. The sound was loud enough that the cabins inhabitants and a few nearby campers all came to see what happened. Even a few hunters were watching what happened, some of them even laughing at the young man.

The boy had a faint blush on his face as he looked away. With his stellar hearing, Chiron heard the young man mutter a brief 'Sorry' as he got up and walked off to the side. The campers that swarmed seemed to back away from the demigod as he just stood there.

Chiron made a mental note to make some other sleeping arrangements for the young man as the trainer of heroes feared that he might further demolish the cabin if he were to stay. Though on the bright side, this might be what was needed for him to convince the gods to allow for the worn-down cabin to be rebuilt and possibly expanded.

"Chiron!" The centaur heard some one call his name and turned to watch Thalia push her way to the front of the crowd, followed by Josh, the son of Athena that's been the subject of much attention as of late. "What happened?" The daughter of Zeus asked as she looked at the wreckage that was once the porch of the Hermes cabin.

"It seems that Cabin Eleven was in dire need of repairs, far more than I realized." Chiron spoke slightly louder than normal so as to be heard by all present. The boy was new to camp and having him destroy a cabin didn't really make for a good first impression. "There's no need to worry. I will ask Olympus if we are able to renovate the cabin along with fixing it." Chiron spoke and out of the corner of his eye he could see the long-time inhabitants of Cabin Eleven smile at the idea of a bigger living space.

"Are you sure Chiron? Because it looks to me like the new camper stomped a hole in it." Josh said pointing to Percy, or rather his jeans as they were covered in pieces of wood, yet oddly enough Chiron couldn't find a single injury now that he got a good look. He just merely shrugged it off as a stroke of luck.

"Oh, shut up Josh." Thalia snapped as she crossed her arms. "Cabin Elevens always been rundown."

"Hey!" A random camper called out from somewhere.

"It was about to happen to someone." She shrugged and walked over to the expressionless demigod. "You didn't try to wreck the cabin, did you?" She asked.

"No." Was his short reply, but that seemed to be enough for Thalia.

"See, total accident." She said. Chiron noticed that many of those present were nodding their heads along, Thalia being enough of a voucher for them to accept that as truth. Chiron was relieved at how the problem seemed to handle itself.

Thalia looked at Percy. "I don't know about you but I'm hungry. You want to come with?" She asked. "I'm pretty sure that they are still serving breakfast food and I could go for waffles." The two of them seemed to have a silent conversation. "Well I think they'll make pancakes if we ask. Those do sound better. But I get the first grab at bacon." Percy just gave her a slightly raised brow. "Alright fine. Since you're new you can have the first pick of bacon, but the sausages are mine first." She spoke as the tall boy just nodded and the two of them walked off, leaving everyone, including Chiron, confused at what just happened.

'I will have to think about that later,' Chiron thought as he surveyed the damages. 'For now, I have a few Iris Messages to make.'

* * *

**X**

* * *

The rest of the day seemed to pass by with only a few incidents. After the whole wrecked cabin thing with Percy, the day went rather plainly. Thalia wasn't complaining though, rather she enjoyed having the new demigod to hang out with after she led him away from the crowd of campers. He didn't hold her on a pedestal like some of the other campers or tried to pick fights for camp leading roles. He wasn't the most vocal conversationalist, but he did answer any questions she had all the same and still gave his two cents on any random topics she brought up, though her mind was still mostly focused on the potential of food. Luckily for the two of them they were still in time for breakfast. Unlikely for her however the guy could actually eat more than her, much to her disbelief. He managed to put away large portions of pancakes, bacon, sausage, toast and eggs. His portions were almost twice as large as her own, and she knew she could eat more than most campers.

Many of the campers still present must have heard about what happened at the Hermes cabin, because they were all sending him wayward glances, with the campers that lived in the cabin giving unsure looks as they sat at their table. Outwardly Percy didn't let it bother him, but Thalia could tell something was wrong when he chose to sit on the ground next to her table rather than at the Hermes table even after she explained the rules. When he didn't move, she relented, she actually liked that he sat near her. The whole sit at your own table thing was stupid in her opinion and made her feel a bit lonely, not that she would ever admit it.

After breakfast the day went normally. She showed him a more in depth look into the camp. She tried to find another weapon that he could use from the camps armory, but quickly found that there wasn't much he could use after he swung a few weapons, and most of them broke after a few swings. Trying to teach him archery was virtually impossible because every time he drew a bow the wood would snap in half. Needless to say, they were chased out of the archery range by a few very angry Apollo campers.

After that she tried to do a few activities with him and found out a few things. One, Percy was not the fastest or most agile guy. That's not to say that he was overly slow, but he was in the back group of the foot racing class. Two, was that he was wickedly strong. She did have her suspicions when he used that anchor but kinda thought it was magic so only he could lift it. That theory was blown out of the water though when they had to clean up the canoes, and he was carrying the canoes four at a time without looking exhausted in the slightest. She could only carry one of them at a time and even then she felt a bit tired. She began to think that maybe he was the next Hercules, and she would get a roommate. The Zeus cabin tends to get a bit lonely.

The rest of the day passed by in a flash for the demigoddess with the only notable things were a few near fights that happened between the hunters and the campers. Thalia had to stifle a laugh as at the memory of an Aphrodite camper that looked like she was about to stab a hunter in the face with a nail file.

Dinner was something else as Percy, once again sat on the ground next to her table, drawing curious glances from the other campers. She also saw that other kid Nico for the first time after they arrived. He seemed to be fitting in well with the Hermes cabin members as he showed a few of them his card game, though Thalia noticed that he was sending a few glares over to the Hunters table. Thalia's eyes trailed over till she saw his sister Bianca laughing along with the group. She felt a bit of sympathy for the boy, it wasn't easy being left behind by those you care for and had to commend him for trying to get along with the others. Annabeth and Will were having a good time at their tables, talking to their siblings and it made her glad that little Annie was safe.

The dinner finished with Chiron's usual toast to the gods and him welcoming the Hunters to camp, although that was met with little enthusiasm. The announcement of the capture the flag game though was much better received.

After dinner Chiron went up to Percy and informed him that he could sleep in the Big House until more appropriate lodging could be found, though Thalia could tell that it meant till he was claimed.

Once she was done eating Thalia just headed back to her cabin, bidding her friends goodnight, and headed to sleep early. As soon as her head hit the pillow, Thalia was out like a light. Her mind succumbed to sleep as she felt a fog cloud her.

Then she appeared somewhere. A place that she didn't know. A thick blanket of darkness surrounded her, making it difficult to look at her surroundings. A low grunting echoed in her surroundings. It sounded pained and exhausted as the sound reached Thalia's ears. She looked around until her eyes fell on a sight that made her gasp, yet her voice wasn't there.

Just a ways away was the goddess Artemis, struggling to carry something on her back that Thalia couldn't see. Her face was covered in grime and sweat and contorted in a look of pain. Two chains were shackled around her arms.

**"That look on your face. Its such a beautiful look don't you think?"** A voice sounded from the darkness. It sounded deep and made Thalia feel cold at the sound. It was like two stones being ground together.

"I…have nothing to…say to you…male." Artemis spoke with seething hatred through her grit teeth.

**"Oh, but you don't have to say anything."** The voice spoke out. **"In fact, I preferred it if you didn't. But don't worry you won't be alone."** Before Artemis could ask why, the presence left and out of the shadows a young girl was pushed into the area where Thalia could see her. She looked barely older than twelve. Her skin was pale, and her body was a bit skinny. She was wearing nothing more than simple rags as clothes. Her eyes looked around in terror, like she didn't know what was going on.

"W-Where am I?" She asked as she looked around frantically. "What's going on?"

Artemis looked at the girl and she looked like she wanted to reach out and comfort the young girl. "Do not fret… young maiden. Just stay calm...and all shall be okay." Artemis said in the most comforting voice she could.

"Are you okay?" She asked with worry. The desire to help despite her own situation seemed to touch the goddess as she smiled, though to Thalia it look slightly like a grimace. "Let me help you." The young girl said, and she slowly walked over to the goddess.

"You… can't help me… young one. It is too much… for a mortal." Artemis warned, but that didn't stop the young girl. Artemis let out a huff. "At least tell me...your name young maiden." Artemis said, giving up once she realized there was no way for her to stop the girl.

"My name is Alayah." She said meekly as she tried to fidget with the shackles. "Wait I think I have it." She exclaims as she manages to undo one of the shackles after a few minutes of fiddling. The metal rings as it falls to the ground, leaving one of her arms free. Artemis looks astonished at her free arm, and a spark of hope ignites in her eyes. Thalia begins to praise Alayah for her skills internally.

Alayah begins to work on the other shackle. "Once you are done you need to find someone to take my place. Once that is done, I can take you away from here. I have a place where I can offer you a home."

"Really?" Alayah says and her eyes hold a glimpse of hope much like Artemis's own. "I've never had a family. I'd love to join you." She said and worked even more fervently on the shackles. "I think I got it." Alayah says and Thalia looks on, holding in a breath at how tense the situation seemed.

Alayah looked focused as she worked, and she seemed almost done. Then the sound of a clink sounded out. The second shackle was undone. Artemis had a look of pure joy on her face as she watched Alayah begin to remove the shackles.

That was…until Alayah's hands fell to her side, leaving the shackle on Artemis's arm.

"Alayah?" Artemis asked, but Alayah didn't respond. Her eyes were wide as her hands went to her throat. Thalia didn't know what she was doing or why she stopped. That was until she saw the blood that coated Alayah's palm, followed by the stream that flowed like a water fall from her neck.

The girl collapsed where she stood, her body falling one way and her head falling another. Thalia and Artemis looked on in horror at the corpse of the girl that was alive only seconds ago. The blood splattered as her corpse hit the floor, splattering a few drops onto the goddess's face. It took a moment before either could comprehend what just happened.

Artemis just stared at the corpse in disbelief, silent tears fell down her face as the look of hope in her eyes died out and was replaced by sadness, and horror. Thalia herself felt sick to her stomach. She wanted to vomit, to look away, but something was keeping her there, forcing her to watch. Neither of them noticed how the once undone shackles seemed to come to life and wrapped themselves around her arms once more.

**"HAHAHAHA!"** A horrifying cackle broke the silence snapping both women from their states of shock.

"You…You MONSTER!" Artemis shrieked into the darkness. "You worthless filthy MONSTER!" But the cackling didn't stop. In fact, it only increased, sounding as if it came from all around. The sound of the laughter made Thalia want to run and hide. She had faced monsters all her life, but the sound of this laughter made her want break down and hide away.

"I believe that is enough creature." A new voice spoke out, causing the laughter to slowly stop. Out of the darkness a massive man walked. He was like a mountain of muscle trying to fit into a business suit. He was easily towering over Artemis at seven to eight feet tall. His voice was deep and solid, like the sound could be felt in her bones when he spoke. "You'll have to excuse him. He is a new addition to our army and is very…" He paused and rolled his hand like he was thinking. "eager to put his skills to use."

"What do you want General." Artemis spoke through grit teeth, but her tears still fell.

"Nothing, I just wished to see the proud goddess who fell so lowly into such a simple trap." He chuckled. "You shall make a fine sacrifice."

"You shall…never succeed." Artemis growls, but the general chuckles at her.

"Your attempts are adorable, but you are in no position to do anything." The mountain of a man turns and looks into the shadows. A pair of eyes appear in the darkness. They glow a ghastly greenish blue color. They looked old and seemed to hold a tainted presence. Thalia felt that they were looking into her very soul as she looked at the eyes, as if they were digging out all her weaknesses and fears. Although she couldn't see it, Thalia could tell that whatever that thing was, it probably had the most feral and twisted grin on its face. "Clean up your mess. There are more important things than keeping her company at the moment."

**"Fine."** The eyes spoke with the same chilling voice as earlier. Then Alayah's body began to disintegrate into green smoke, until there was nothing left to even show that she existed in the first place. Artemis just watched with horror at the display, as if she couldn't understand what just happened. **"And what of the other one?"** It spoke in amusement.

"She won't do anything." The General spoke and his attention turned to Thalia. His cold, dark eyes bore into her. Her breath caught in her throat and she could feel her heart beating in her chest. Then suddenly the darkness seemed to explode, engulfing Thalia in its cold embrace.

The next thing that she knew, Thalia was once again in her bed in the Zeus cabin. Her body was covered in a cold sweat, her heart hammered in her chest and she could feel the blood pulsing in her ears. She kept reassuring herself that it was only a dream, but that didn't stop her from feeling like both of those mysterious figures were still watching her. She looked at her clock and thanked small miracles that the time read five am. That meant that she wouldn't have to stay up all night for morning, because she had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to sleep even if she wanted to.


	5. Chapter 4

**Guest: Percy does have all of Nauts abilities and some more. ;P**

**nagyg2000: I know this is late to your reviews but to clarify Nautilus is Percy and Percy is Nautilus, but Percy is still Percy and Nautilus is still Nautilus. Does this make any sense? If it doesn't its because I'm being an asshole on purpose. :P**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson is property of Rick Riordan and League of Legends is property of Riot Games**

**Chapter 4**

The next morning Thalia made her way towards breakfast. The dreams of last night had made falling asleep a virtual impossibility. Even now she could feel a cold shiver go down her spine as she thought about those eyes and that cackling in the darkness. She grit her teeth in irritation. She shouldn't be feeling scared over some dream, a demigod one or not. She was Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus. She stopped walking for a moment to take a deep breath and calm her nerves. Once she was satisfied, she continued onward to the dining pavilion.

She went and sat at her table, and just like yesterday Percy was sitting on the ground next to her, munching on a large plate of bacon and pancakes. He looked up at her and their eyes met. His eyes held a silent message, asking if she was okay, making Thalia cursed herself internally as she probably looked worse than she thought. The nymphs hadn't even brought her breakfast over yet and she was already found out and trust her when she says that the nymphs had fast serving times.

"I'm fine," She said as she looked the demigod in the eyes. "Just didn't get enough sleep last night." Percy nodded and reached down and picked up the goblet and held it out to her. The goblet was filed with a steaming brown liquid. She looked at it with a raised brow.

"Mocha." He said, pushing the goblet into her hands. "Caffeine and sugar. It helps."

"Uh, thanks." She says and he just nods in return. She gingerly puts the steaming liquid to her mouth and takes a sip. Now Thalia had never really been a coffee drinker, years living on the streets had never allowed for such a luxury, but she had to admit that the chocolate flavored caffeinated drink was really working for her as it filled her body with warmth.

After a few more sips and half of her breakfast eaten once it arrived, she looked around at the other tables until her eyes landed on the hunters table. Or rather one specific hunter. Once again, Zoe Nightshade sat at the head of the table of hunters. She had a serious look on her face as compared to the night before, but what struck Thalia the most were the signs of a lack of sleep on her features. Under her eyes were light bags and her hair had a few strands sticking out as compared to how well done it usually looked.

Zoe's eyes meet Thalia's for the briefest second before Thalia turned away, to avoid being caught looking. Last thing she needed was the hunters thinking she wished to join them and giving her the sales pitch again. But back to the Lieutenant, she was obviously distressed as her appearance wasn't one you'd get from just being unable to sleep. Something had clearly caused her distress, much like her dreams had done for her. What that was she could only guess but for now she had more important things to worry about. Such as beating those pompous bitches in capture the flag.

The rest of the day went pretty normally for Thalia. She met up with Annie after lunch and the two of them went over strategies for the capture the flag game that was happening later that night. Well, Annabeth mostly went over the strategies, Thalia was trying to not fall asleep as Annabeth talked. She loved the girl but sometimes she could make even the most interesting things sound boring.

"… and if we take the Demeter campers and place them…" Annabeth was explaining and pointing to various places on a map of the forest, but Thalia was having a hard time paying attention as her head began to bob slightly, and her eyes began to close slowly.

"THALIA!" The sudden shout and hand hitting the table woke her up.

"I'm up! I'm up!" She said and looked around until she saw Annabeth looking at her with a raised brow. "What?" Thalia asked, giving her a questioning look.

"First off, you were drooling," Annabeth pointed out and Thalia quickly wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "And secondly you were passing out. Somethings wrong with you. You're normally focused for capture the flag."

Thalia mentally scolded herself again for getting caught. She didn't want to talk about her dreams with Annabeth. She had always been the strong one in their little group when they were making their way to camp, it was a role that she never really grew out of and had gotten used to. "It's nothing Annie really." She casually waved off, but Annabeth wasn't a daughter of Athena for nothing as she didn't stop with the questioning looks. Thalia knew the girl wouldn't give up until she came to an answer that satisfied her or something more important came up, and since the world wasn't ending…yet, she'd have to make something up. "I just couldn't sleep is all. That statue of my father is way to creepy looking."

Annabeth held her look before nodding, making Thalia mentally high five herself. Annabeth had seen the statue before and they both agreed that it was pretty creepy looking, which was one of the reasons why Thalia took the bed farthest from it in her cabin. "Ok Thals. Just remember to bring you're A game tonight. Now as I was saying…" And like that Thalia slowly zoned out whatever Annabeth was saying as she knew that they would probably just be following her plan anyways despite whatever contributions she made.

* * *

**X**

* * *

It was currently after dinner and the once calm and joyous atmosphere had been replaced with an air of tension. Currently there were fifteen hunters sitting on one side of the eating area and about twenty campers on the other side. Percy was just sorta watching from somewhere in between the two groups as they glared at each other. The campers were muttering to themselves and the ones that seemed the most interested in this were those Aphrodite campers that he had meet today. Some of them were nice, like that Selina girl, but then there were those like the one named Drew who were a bit to touchy. He remembered her feeling around his body and complimenting him on his muscles before Selina dragged her away.

Percy appreciated that. He didn't really care that she was so close, but it was more the fact that she was attempting to flirt and tease him. Most people tended to avoid him so to have someone try was a bit uncomfortable. In fact, the only one that he felt comfortable with those actions were Sarah since that was her personality and he knew she cared for him, and Nami that one time that she asked Sarah to teach her how to make friends and they used him as practice. Sarah was clearly messing with them when she taught Nami to flirt rather than make friends.

Percy stopped and just shook his head and cast those thoughts out of his mind. There was no reason to bring up such memories. Those were memories of the previous him, the current him had never actually meet the two, though that didn't stop him from thinking of them as the closest thing to family.

Percy absentmindedly rubbed the maroon fabric with the arm wearing the sea stone bracelet. The familiar feeling bringing him comfort as he touched it, easing his mind and making him relaxed.

Then the sudden sound of stomping caught the attention of everyone here. All sets of eyes went to the front of the pavilion where Chiron was standing in his full horse form. Percy had to fight back the urge to bring his anchor out and instead just held the cloth in a tight grip to soothe him. The man's form brought back memories of maniacal laughter and ghostly fire, the sound of hooves crushing metal and bone beneath them. He had to remind himself that this man wasn't the same person, that they simply resembled each other's forms.

"Heroes! Hunters!" Chiron shouted; his voice echoed through the pavilion. "You all know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team—Camp Half Blood—shall take the west woods. Red team—Hunters of Artemis—shall take the east woods. I shall serve as referee and battlefield medic. There will be no intentional maiming! All magic items are allowed. Prepare yourselves!" And with that the trainer of heroes trotted off into the woods as the campers and hunters all followed and prepared for the game.

Percy watched as they strapped into their armor and went over plans. He just stood next to a tree and watched, not bothering to grab any equipment. He saw some of the campers were already leaving and Nico was even hanging with some of the Hermes campers. They were helping him hold his sword as they made their way to the game and Percy was about to follow when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Percy turned around to look at the person who wanted his attention, or rather people.

In front of him was a tall, though not as tall as Percy, blonde boy and behind him was a short but stocky looking younger kid with brown hair and eyes. The blonde had an air of confidence about him, but it wasn't shared by the smaller boy who seemed intimidated by Percy's presence. Percy raised a brow at the two, a silent question asking what they wanted.

Seeming to understand his wants the blonde introduced himself. "My names Josh." He said with a confident smile. "And this is Andy." He motioned to the brown-haired boy. "The two of us were just wondering how you were doing."

"Ok." Percy simply said. He didn't really have much else to say. He'd only been here for two days after all.

"Well, seeing as this is your first game of Capture the Flag, Andy and I just wanted to extend an offer to help you out. You can be with our group when we go out." Josh said with a smirk as he pointed with a thumb over his shoulder to a group of meaner, larger campers, some of the older ones almost reaching Percy's height. Percy felt Josh's eyes looking him over, as if analyzing how he could best be used. That confident smile making it seem like he knew what was best for Percy.

"No." Only for said smile to fall slightly at the blatant one-word rejection.

"I don't think you understand." Josh plastered the smile on once again. "These are the Hunters of Artemis. Their skill is not really something to mess with. It will be better if we stick together to win." Josh said with a little force and he put a firm hand on Percy's shoulder.

"You should listen. Josh knows what he's saying." Andy said from behind Josh.

Before Percy could reject him once again another blonde stood in front of him, sending a glare at the other, and she spoke with an edge. "The games are about to start Josh. I suggest that you get going."

"Now, now Annabeth." Josh said in a placating tone as he backed up. "I was just offering to make sure that our new camper doesn't have a bad experience." He said with an honest look, but Annabeth wasn't believing one word of it.

"Don't give me that crap Josh. I know what you were trying to do." The smaller blonde said with a glare. "You've been trying to undermine this entire thing. We've already got a plan set up and I don't need you ruining it."

The smile dropped from Josh's face; all forms of friendliness gone. "This plan of yours is just absurd. You clearly don't know what you're doing if you think that this will work."

"This is the plan that was agreed upon and this is the one we'll use." Annabeth snapped. Percy just stood off to the side once more watching the two argue. He heard some faint footsteps and turned to see Thalia standing next to him, watching as well.

"Not stopping them?" Percy asked. To which Thalia gave a shrug.

"Those two have always been at odds. Annabeth's been here longer but Josh has more experience under his belt. This is just a regular Tuesday for them." Thalia explained.

"It's Thursday." Percy deadpanned as he continued to watch the two argue. Thalia let out a chuckle and gave him a light punch to the arm.

"Figure of speech dude." She said as the argument had basically devolved into a shouting match. The other campers all just walked off to their respective positions to wait until the game started. Percy raised a brow at that and wondered just how often those two fought that the other campers just didn't seem to care.

"So, you ready to kick some Hunter ass?" Thalia asked with a smirk as she looked Percy in his mismatched eyes. She had this strange feeling in her gut that told her they were going to win, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out how or why.

Percy just nodded and turned and walked into the forest. His direction going straight to the side of the forest that the Hunters were.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Thalia shouted. She looked at him confused at what he was doing when they hadn't even told him the plan yet.

Percy turned to the demigoddess and for the briefest moment that one might have missed if they blinked, a small smirk appeared on his face before he resumed his normal stoic look. "Getting the flag." He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and then he took off into a jog as the horn sounded off, not even letting Thalia respond to his statement.

Percy made his way through the forest. He wasn't hiding or seeking cover. He was completely exposed for everyone to see him. Anyone that saw him would have thought that he was just taking a casual stroll through the woods with how relaxed he was.

All around him, the sounds of battle were going on and from what he could tell, the campers were losing. Annabeth and Josh's infighting was clearly causing a divide amongst the campers, with two separate plans of attack causing their side to fall apart.

"AHH!" A shout sounds out nearby and Percy looks over in its direction. A boy was lying face down with an arrow in his leg and shoulder. Percy's eyes look over the way the arrows were lodged, and he followed the supposed path they had taken to the trees. A flash of silver above proving his suspicions of the archers traveling in the trees. Percy had to hand it to those hunters. They were decently skilled and quite agile, but he had known of far better archers far more dangerous than these girls.

A whistling sound pierced the air, getting louder and louder until a piece of silver collided with Percy's shoulder. The projectile breaking almost in half as it hit its target.

Percy looked at the ground where the offending weapon laid, broken beyond reuse. The arrowhead was blunted and bent to the point that you'd need a blacksmith to salvage what was left of the arrowhead and the shaft was bent and cracked at an odd angle. Percy just shrugged and kept walking to where the flag was. His steps causing slight yet unnoticeable vibrations in the ground, giving him a sort of sonar. It was something he remembered doing back in the oceans of Runeterra as he traveled the ocean floors. Though it was now limited due to the lack of water around him, it could still work to guide him to where he needed to go.

Almost immediately he found what he was looking for as the vibrations exposed two figures standing next to a tree. Percy decided to head that way as it seemed to be the most likely place for their flag to be since the figures weren't moving around. Two more whistling noises sound out as two arrows sail through the air and collide with Percy's back, only to either snap or bounce off and land on the ground. Percy didn't even bother to acknowledge the attempted attack and just kept walking. If he had looked back, he would have noticed three hunters staring in a mixture of shock, and rage at his figure. Shock that that their arrows didn't hurt him and rage that he didn't even acknowledge them.

To them this was a serious blow to their pride as Hunters. They considered themselves elite soldiers compared to the campers and the fact that a new one, a male even, didn't even consider them as worth his attention. That was something that they wouldn't stand. They figured that they already had this game in the bag and that their sisters had dealt with the invading campers. One of them gave the other two a signal and soon the three of them separated.

Percy noticed that the three Hunters that were watching him separated, but it was a passing thought as he pushed through some bushes and branches and into the line of sight of the two guards. A random Hunter and, a slight surprise to Percy, Bianca stood next to a tree with a silver flag hanging from one of its branches.

As soon as Percy showed himself the two hunters brought up their bows, albeit with Bianca fumbling with hers for a brief second and took aim at him. The unknown hunter's expression turned from alarmed too cocky in an instant once she saw that Percy was by himself, though Bianca still looked worried and unsure of what to do.

"The game must be close to over if they let him get past." The unknown hunter said to Bianca. Her smirk never leaving her face. "Hey boy!" She shouted. "Why don't you just go the other way. Saves you the embarrassment of having your ass kicked." She says with a chuckle and nudges Bianca, causing Bianca to give a forced laugh.

But Percy wasn't paying her any attention as his gaze stayed on the softly fluttering silver cloth in the tree. He walks forward to retrieve his target and bring it back to the other side.

The unknown hunter just rolls her eyes as Percy walks towards them. "Males." She says with distaste. "Watch closely newbie," She says to Bianca as she draws an arrow back. "Males need to be put in their place or else they'll start to think their important." She than releases the arrow, making sure to aim at a non-vital area as she saw that he wasn't wearing any armor and internally scoffed at his arrogance.

The arrow flew at great speeds and struck true right on Percy's shoulder. What would have normally pierced a few inches into a tree trunk only bounced off his skin. Percy hadn't even flinched and just continued walking. Both girls looked shocked at how ineffective the arrow was. Percy wasn't even moved by the force of the impact hitting his shoulder. The more experienced hunter quickly recovered from the shock and shot another arrow at Percy, only for it to fail like the first. Her face twisted into a snarl as she started to shoot arrow after arrow at the demigod, completely giving up on only hitting nonlethal areas. The arrows struck his gut, shoulders, chest, legs, and even head, but nothing was even working.

The nameless hunter reached back to her quiver and growled when she realized that she was out of arrows. "Cover me." She told Bianca as she brought out her silver hunting knives in an ice pick grip and charged at the approaching demigod, not even waiting to hear for Bianca's response.

Percy took notice as she charged at him but made no move to defend himself and just continued to close the distance to the flag. The huntress being much faster, as she was sprinting, made a quick series of slashes at Percy's chest and legs. Her eyes widen as she achieved nothing more than just ruining Percy's clothes, leaving clear unblemished tan skin visible for all to see. She then opted for a different strategy as Percy still wasn't paying her any attention and instead just continuing his march to the flag, a fact that made her face red with rage, and she jumped onto his back.

"Don't you turn your back on me male!" She growled as she wrapped her arm around his neck in a choke hold and her legs around his waist. She brought up her knife and then down, fully intending on plunging it into his chest.

The screech of strained metal sounded and then there was a loud crack. In the Hunter's hand was nothing more than a broken knife, one that the huntress had carried for centuries, one that had been blessed by her goddess and had never failed to injure a monster with its sharpened edge. The blade laid on the ground at Percy's feet, bent and cracked and she just stared at it. She was so stunned that she didn't notice Percy reach for the hand holding the handle of the broken knife with his own, and with one strong movement he pulled her off his back and she landed with an audible thud onto the ground below. A gasp of pain escaped her mouth as she laid there stunned until she passed out.

Percy walked past her and right up to the flag, only for Bianca to step in front of him. She held a knife in both hands in front of her, and her knees were shaking but she still held a barely passable stance. Her eyes were like a window to her thoughts as they were filled with nervousness and fear.

Percy said nothing as he stepped right up to her. This made her yelp and stab at him with eyes closed. Her knife hit his abs, creating another hole in his already ruined shirt, which at this point was barely more than scraps of fabric. The knife did nothing and Percy just wrapped his hands around Bianca's biceps, locking her arms to her sides.

"Let me go!" She demanded as Percy lifted her up, her legs dangling in the air only to meet the ground once again. She opened her eyes and saw that she was standing just a few feet from where she was. Percy already had the flag in his hands and just walked away, not bothering to knock Bianca unconscious. It was very clear to him that she was not yet a warrior and wouldn't come after him. After all, that entire 'fight' took barely over a minute.

Percy pushed through the bushes and branches once more, though this time with a silver flag in his hand. Now all he had to do was to bring it to the other side of the creek and then they would win. He was about to take a step when a silver arrow shot from a bush, striking the ground in front of him.

"And where do you think you're going male?" A hunter growled as she stepped out of the brush with her bow drawn.

Percy blinked. "The other side." He said in an emotionless tone. He began to wonder if these Hunters knew the objective of this game.

"Not with that you're not." She gestured to the flag and then her face turned into a heated glare. "And especially not after what you did to Phoebe." Then a dozen hunters made themselves noticeable as the stepped out of their hiding places. Each of them with a look of anger and loathing directed at him.

Percy let a small sigh escape his mouth, which for him really showed how tedious he thought this was. He then took one step and as if it were some kind of signal all of the hunters leapt to action. Eager to beat down the demigod.

* * *

**X**

* * *

Zoe leapt from tree to tree, moving at an inhumane pace through the forest. The skills that she had honed over the millennia allowing her to land on each branch with nimbleness and grace. She brought an arrow out and nocked it into the string of her bow as she saw two campers, a boy and a girl moving through the forest. She let the arrow fly and it hit her target, the boy, in the thigh with the arrow, bringing him down. She would have hit somewhere worse, but if she did, she knew that Chiron wouldn't have it.

It only took her a second before she had another arrow drawn back, this one a blunt tip, and fired it at the female camper. The arrow hit her helmet that rested on her head, knocking her out.

She let out a sigh as she dropped to the ground. This game was nothing more than a waste of time. On the first day that she arrived she had a dream of her goddess being captured. Trapped under an immeasurable weight. She wanted to go, to gather the rest of the hunters and go save their mistress.

But she was immediately stopped by Chiron. She tried to explain to him about her dream, but he refused to listen and wouldn't let them leave until they received word from Artemis. She tried to explain that Artemis couldn't give the order since she was captured, but again the old centaur wouldn't hear it. If she could she would have left anyways but the boundaries of camp were under Chiron's control, meaning that he controlled who was allowed to leave.

Since she couldn't convince Chiron she tried the next best option to leave. She had to get a quest, but that too had failed. When she tried to reach the oracle, Argus, the camp's head of security, was already waiting to stop her. That devolved into an argument rather quickly and forced her to leave.

She hadn't yet told her sisters about this as she didn't want them to worry, at least until she was sure that she could get away out of this camp.

Zoe picked up the blunt arrow off the ground and returned it to her quiver. She knew better than to let a still usable arrow go to waste. She turned and began to trace the steps of the two campers, following their trail back to where they came from and hopefully to where the flag was so that she could end this game.

The sounds of battle echoed through the forest as Zoe moved unseen between the trees. The campers held the obvious advantage in numbers, but it only took a glance for Zoe to see just how disorganized the campers formations were. She was glad that they only sent out three scouts. By the time that she retrieved the flag she had no doubt that the campers will have been dealt with.

"Their formations are an embarrassment. Art they truly children of the gods?" Zoe asked no one in particular.

"I wouldn't go mouthing off about them if I were you." A voice said from the brush as Thalia Grace steps into view with her spear in her hand. "Who knows who might take it the wrong way."

"Thou should practice what thy preach." Zoe says back with a glare.

"Nah not really my style." Thalia says with a shrug of her shoulders. "But I kinda expected the lieutenant of the Hunt to be a much more presentable figure. Guess I was wrong."

"Thou are still as uncouth as ever." Zoe scowls, earning one back from the demigoddess. "However, I lack time to play with thee. I hast more important things to do."

"Is it too much to ask for you to speak real English." Thalia mutters under her breath, but Zoe's keen hearing picked it up anyways, making her agitation rise.

"Mine manner of speech is fine Grace." The hunter growled at the demigoddess. She was starting to reach the end of her patience already and now that Thalia was here that end was coming much faster.

"Clearly not since not even the rest of your hunters talk like that." Thalia's snide remark was the last one as Zoe, with centuries of practice and repetition, nocked and fired an arrow in a split second. The projectile would miss however as the demigoddess rolls out of the way and seeing as any forms of talk were now off the figurative table, she charged at the lieutenant.

Thalia thrust her spear forward, trying to end the fight in one stroke but Zoe's years of honed reflexes allowed her to dance out of the way of the spear, already knocking an arrow into her bow before firing.

Thalia saw the arrow coming and used he forward momentum from the thrust and leapt forward into a diagonal roll to avoid the arrow. However, she was caught off guard and barely managed to raise her spear to block the boot of the huntress that was aimed at her face. The force of the kick was enough to push her back a few meters, putting Zoe at a bigger distance than before.

Zoe being the huntress that she was did not let this advantage go as she began to fire arrows at Thalia, who had to move quickly to avoid being made into a pincushion, but that didn't stop a few arrows from hitting her arm and thigh. Grimacing from the pain the demigoddess grit her teeth and started a forward charge towards Zoe.

Seeing this Zoe fired an arrow, one that was aimed at Thalia's shoulder so as to put her out of the fight. But her aim was then thrown off as Thalia tapped her wristband and the horrifying face of Medusa caused Zoe to flinch at the sight and miss and end up bouncing off the shield. Immediately, Thalia was upon Zoe and thrust her spear, but Zoe dodged it, however that was what Thalia wanted her to do as it put her into the perfect position for her to bash the lieutenant with her shield.

Zoe went flying back and landed with a thud before rolling into a crouched position and drawing her dual foot long hunting knives.

'I only hast to stall her.' Zoe thought to herself. 'By now the other hunters hast already gotten the flag.' Zoe brought her knives up. One in the hammer grip and the other in the ice pick grip. She put weight onto her back foot and fell into a defensive stance. She knew that Thalia was an aggressive fighter and that it would be difficult to approach that shield. If she went on the offensive there was a chance she would be overwhelmed.

The two of them went back and forth in their battle, with Thalia's superior reach and shield keeping Zoe from being able to get close to land a blow. And Zoe's agility and centuries of experience keeping Thalia from landing a hit. The two of them didn't even notice that they had left their little concealed area and were now fighting next to the creek.

"Stop dancing around!" Thalia growled as she shot a bolt of lightning at Zoe, who leapt out of the way.

"Unlikely." Zoe said with a smirk. "Canst thou not see that thou hast already lost."

"What are you talking about?" Thalia spoke as she raised her spear, her breathes coming out slightly haggard.

"The forest is mostly silent." Zoe said, and her keen ears picked up the sound of her sisters nearby, which meant that the other campers were already taken care of. "And I can hear my sisters nearby. Thou shall be surrounded soon. Tis best to stop now." Zoe looked at Thalia with a smirk, and out of the corner of her eye she saw a hunter with blonde hair watching them from the bushes with an arrow drawn.

Thalia leveled a defiant glare at the lieutenant, but inwardly she was cursing about losing to Zoe. She knew that the girl would hold it over her, and inwardly began to call the other campers explicit names for falling apart so easily.

"You need help there Zoe?" The hunter in hiding called out as she walked out, positioning herself behind Thalia.

Zoe watched as Thalia looked back and forth between them, trying to figure out how to deal with them both. "I am fine Atalanta. Where is Bethany?" Zoe responded.

Atalanta shrugged. "Dealing with the guards. Found them watching two Athena kids arguing about something." Atalanta gave a shrug but never took her aim off Thalia. "Said she could deal with them easily, so I decided to see if there were any stragglers left." At the explanation Zoe watched as Thalia got an exasperated look on her face and muttered something. Zoe could barely hear it but to her it sounded like she said, 'Gods dammit Annie.'

"It must be embarrassing to see thy comrades quarrel amongst themselves like children." Zoe shook her head. She pitied Chiron for having to put up with these children for so long.

"Will you just—" Thalia spoke with a glare only for her to be interrupted by shouting from the other side of the creek.

"Kick his ass!"

"You think you can get away male!?"

"Stop moving!"

The three girls all looked at the opposite side of the creek as the shouting only grew louder. "It seems that we captured more of thy comrades." Zoe said. It was expected, after all she had been participating in these capture the flag games since they were first made. The Hunters held such a winning streak that she had no doubt in her mind that they would win once again. Well that was until her eyes landed on a sight that she never thought that she would see.

Through the trees the sound of the Hunters shouts got louder, and a figure finally came to view. Or rather figures came into view as one shirtless Percy Jackson came strolling along at a casual pace, along with the rest of the Hunters of Artemis.

Each of the three girls just looked at him as they saw that the Hunters were literally covering him from head to toe. Zoe saw two of their youngest hunters were sitting on his feet like children do with their parent, another was piggybacking him and trying to stab her knife into his now bare chest but failing to hurt him. Two Hunters were holding his waist and trying to dig their feet into the ground to stop him from moving forward. A rope was looped around his chest and two lines of Hunters were each pulling the ropes to the point that Zoe could see how red their faces were even from the distance.

"Well damn." Thalia said, breaking Zoe from her shocked state. "I didn't think he would actually do it." Zoe looked at the demigoddess confused until she saw what she was looking at. A hunter was attacking the males hand for some reason, but then Zoe saw it. The unmistakable shimmer of silver in the moonlight.

The male had taken their flag.

Zoe heard the sound of more footsteps, but from the opposite direction and saw a brown-haired girl in silver running towards them.

"Atalanta. Make sure she doesn't go anywhere." Zoe ordered, pointing at Thalia who was just watching everything unfold and not moving a muscle. She then took off to help the other Hunters stop Percy from moving.

She didn't like to admit it, but Zoe's heritage made her much stronger than a normal demigod and right now she was going to use it. Zoe leapt and nearly cleared the entire creek, landing in the shallows of the opposite end and took off running at the demigod. As soon as she got close enough, she brought her foot up and spartan kicked the male dead center in the chest.

Now normally this would send anyone flying back as she decided not to hold back, since he seemed to be mocking the Hunters, but much to her surprise it was Zoe that was the one launched back and landing on her rear.

Had anyone been paying her any attention they would have seen the look of 'What the Hades just happened?' across her face before she got back up aimed to stab the male, only for the tips of the knives to bend against his abs, rendering them useless. Zoe just looked even more shocked at the two ruined blades in her hands. Her strength wasn't enough to knock him down and her blades were just made useless by his bare skin.

Zoe looked over at the other end of the creek. Thalia and Atalanta hadn't left their positions but Bethany was much closer than before. If she couldn't wound the male than she would have to settle for slowing him down.

Zoe then charged and her arms wrapped around Percy's waist; her body low as she dug her feet into the ground. She was attacking him by the waist like a wrestler or a lineman in mortal football. This however did little to stop Percy as Zoe's feet were digging grooves into the ground beneath her.

Zoe grit her teeth as she pushed harder against the male. Her muscles screaming as she tried to push forward but it wasn't working in the slightest. She kept thinking to herself that she just need to hold him for a few more seconds. She knew how fast Bethany was and she knew that she would probably be the one to cross if the held the demigod back for even a second.

But then she felt the male's body begin to shift and she looked up. Zoe's eyes widen as she see's his free arm raised, only it wasn't free anymore because sitting in his grip was a massive anchor that seemed be easily as big as herself. Zoe could feel power radiate from deep within the metal. But the only thought in her mind at that moment was 'Where the Hades did that come from?'

Percy then threw the monstrous metal object. The chain it was attached to rung as it soared through the air, and Zoe watched as it landed and embedded itself into the ground near Thalia and Atalanta, a massive boom sounded out and the lieutenant could feel the ground shake from the impact. It was even enough that the sudden tremor made Bethany stumble, thus slowing her down.

This confused Zoe as she didn't know what the male was trying to do. He showed he was strong enough to throw the massive object so why didn't he use it to attack Bethany. Hades, why didn't he use the thing to deal with the platoon of girls that he was literally dragging around.

The answer to Zoe's questions came, but it wasn't the one she was expecting as the chain attached to the anchor seemed to be reeling itself until it became taut in Percy's hands. Then she felt a sudden jerk in the opposite direction and her and the rest of the hunters were all being dragged by Percy towards the creek. The Hunters were so shocked by the sudden movement that the didn't even release their grips and were dragged along. That was until their training kicked in and they let go of what they were grabbing before they were dragged away, unlucky for them however was that the moment that the Hunters decided to release their grips was the moment that Percy was being pulled over the creek.

Zoe spluttered as she hit the freezing cold water before she picked herself up from out of the water. She silently thanked her mistress that her blessings helped to block out cold temperatures and weathers, but that was only an after thought as she was currently trying to murder the new camper with her glare alone as he stood dry on the shore of his teams side.

"Hey? You all okay?" Zoe turned as Atalanta followed by Bethany ran over to her and the other Hunters, who were still in the creek, and leaving a now laughing Thalia alone.

"I am fine!" Zoe snarled, her glare never leaving as she marched out of the water. She was internally debating on how to kill the male for this humiliation. It was bad enough that her mistress was captured, and she couldn't help her, but in her absence, Zoe had allowed the campers to break the Hunter's winning streak.

Before she could say anything, Chiron trotted in with a massive grin on his face and two campers on his back that Zoe recognized as the injured forms of the irritating Stoll brothers. "The Campers win!" He shouted with joy.

"Oh damn." Thalia said with a laugh as she made her way over to Percy, she rested her arm on his shoulder and leaned on him, the height difference becoming quite apparent. A small blush appeared over the demigoddess's face as she looked at Percy's well-toned and muscular torso. "I was wondering what you were going to do when you said you were 'getting the flag' but I wasn't expecting that." She manages to say through her laughter.

"Thalia! What in the gods name were you doing?!" A now very irate daughter of Athena yelled as she and the other campers were now all gathering. Each of them were covered in injuries and dirt, but that didn't stop them from grinning like madmen at the camps victory. The Athena girl, who Zoe remembered was the foolish girl who tried to ride the Manticore, was also sporting various bruises and cuts, and her hair looked like a rats nest, but she didn't share the same smile as the rest of the campers. "We had a plan already set up. What were you doing fighting her? you should have been going after the flag."

Zoe saw Thalia roll her eyes at the blonde girl and she could at least relate to her with that. She had known her fair share of children of Athena and knew how unreasonable they could be when their plans fail, or something beyond their control happens even of it is beneficial. "The plan was a wash Annie. Percy here said he could get the flag and I trusted him." She said simply. "Besides you and Josh were arguing again so everything was already down the drain."

"But you don't even know him." Annabeth retorted and kept sending glances at the male as if she was trying to figure him out but failing.

"Just let it go Annabeth. We won, what does it matter now." A new voice spoke, and a blonde male resembling Annabeth walked out from the crowd. Zoe could immediately tell what kind of person he was. The way he walked, smiled and his eyes all screamed that he held himself above the others and took great pride in that fact.

'A typical male.' Zoe thought.

"If you hadn't been such a malaka, Josh," She said with an edge. "Then everything would have gone according to the plans."

"Annabeth." Chiron chided the young girl. Now normally Zoe would have been all for the girl speaking back to the male, but now that she had a moment to collect herself, she could see that the girl was only whining about an outcome that was positive for her. It was utterly pointless.

"Maybe if you weren't such a control freak all the time" Josh scowled, and Zoe could tell that they were going to break out into an argument, and she wasn't in the mood for such foolish things.

Zoe motioned for the Hunters to follow her since they had all dragged themselves out of the creek and were going to head back to Cabin eight in order to change out of their wet clothes. But they all froze as they saw something walking towards them. One of the hunters must have let out a gasp as all those present turned to see what the Hunters were looking at.

"This is impossible," Chiron said, his voice trembling and Zoe knew he was right to be scared. "It… she has never left the attic. Never."

Slowly, the withered corpse of the oracle shuffled forward. Green fog began to roll from her feet and inched closer to the group of people. It's eyes were glowing like ghostly green lamps in the darkness.

What happened next was not something anyone would have thought would happen as Percy pushed himself to the front of the group, dragging his anchor with him until he was next to Zoe. Zoe looked over at him and saw that the normally passive look on his face had turned into one of pure unbridled rage, a minor shock as she had never seen any real form of expression beyond a blank stare from the male.

He lifted the anchor and in one mighty overhead swing slammed it in front of the approaching green fog. The force was enough that the ground shook from the impact and a crater formed as well, making all those present jump out of their shock.

Percy's eyes glowed like dim lights, like a poisonous sea green and an infernal orange light that held deep pools of power, and Zoe could have sworn that she saw a green aura flicker around his body.

The lieutenant of the hunt shivered as she felt a deep cold seep into her bones that shouldn't have been possible with her goddesses blessing and it suddenly felt like she was submerged in water. Normally she felt at home in the water as her mother was an ocean nymph, but this didn't feel as comforting in the slightest. It felt more like a dark abyss at the bottom of the ocean. One which no light could reach and could swallow those foolish enough to venture in. She didn't know why but the feeling felt familiar to her.

But Zoe pushed those thoughts away as she watched what was happening before her. The green fog of the oracle came forward until it was almost touching the anchor, but then recoiled as if it touched fire. She watched confused and nervous as the fog retreated until it surrounded the oracle, who took a step back from the male and his unorthodox weapon, almost as if it feared him. She didn't have to look to know that the boy was receiving looks and glances from all present.

"_Apologies Depth Walker. I meant no ill will."_ The oracle spoke into her head with a raspy, hissing voice. Zoe could tell it was happening to everyone as she saw a few campers and hunters clutching their heads in pain. But that was an after thought as her and Chiron kept glancing between the oracle and Percy. The two of them were the oldest ones present and not once had either ever heard of the oracle ever converse with someone beyond the prophecies, let alone apologize.

'Depth Walker?' Zoe thought as she stared the demigod and filed the name away.

"**Eldritch." **Percy growled and his tone sent a shiver down her spine. She swore that his voice seemed to deepen and sounded a bit hollow.

"_I am not what you think Wanderer." _The oracle spoke _"I am the spirit of Delphi. Speaker of prophecies. I am merely a messenger of the wills of the fates, I bear no relation to those beings."_

That seemed to be enough as Percy's body seemed to relax, and he pulled the anchor out of the ground and rested it on his shoulder. That chilling feeling receding as his face returned to its normal stoic look, though it still held a sort of intensity in those glowing eyes. Zoe added that other piece of information into her mind. What beings would be able to invoke such a response? What did they have to do with the oracle? And what did he mean by Eldritch?

But Zoe would never get an answer to those questions as the oracle turned towards her. Those dead eyes seemed to pierce straight to Zoe's soul, and it took years of honed discipline not to cower at the gaze.

"_Approach seeker and ask."_ It sounded like a simple request, but Zoe felt like it was an order that would mean dire consequences if she disobeyed.

Zoe swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and stepped forward. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. The mist never got close to them as Percy stood in the front of the group. Vague images began to form in front of them until it became clear enough to make out. The image of Artemis sitting atop a lone peak formed. Her arms held up and her face one of pain and grief. Then the oracle spoke.

_Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

_One shall find their peace in the land without rain,_

_Beware the beast that follows your trail,_

_Campers and Hunters must become more if they are to prevail,_

_The Titan's curse shall finally end,_

_The cold of death shall allow one to mend._

Once the prophecy ended the images of her goddess dissipated into green mist that swirled and receded like serpents back into the oracle, but her eyes remained alight. The oracle turned away from Zoe and once more turned its attention to Percy. The glow in its eyes softened, and the corpse took a step forward. When Percy didn't show any signs of retaliation it moved closer to him. All those around him, including Zoe, all stepped back as the oracle came forward until it stopped front of him. Percy just stared at the living corpse before him with no emotion.

"_The fates have asked that you be one of the five to go on the quest." _The oracle hissed into everyone's mind as it gave a slight bow, though its voice wasn't detached or cold like when it gave prophecies. No, this time the voice sounded soft and polite as it could be. It threw everyone for a loop to see the famously terrifying Oracle of Delphi, one that had driven people mad with its prophecies, bow before this unknown demigod. _"The questers will most likely not survive the journey if you are not present. The fates promise that they will help find what you are looking for if you agree."_

The entire forest went silent as the oracle finished speaking. Even the sound of the creek became quiet, as if it were waiting for his response. Zoe just stared at the oracle that was currently still bowing to the demigod before it, and the demigod just giving it a blank look as he absentmindedly rubbed the maroon cloth around his neck. The gemstone on the wristband he wore seemed to shimmer in the moonlight. The tensions was so thick that you could touch it with a knife.

"Ok. Will go." Percy spoke and the oracle lifted itself from its bow.

"_Many thanks Son of Poseidon."_ The corpse spoke before it shuffled over to a rock and sat down. Its body went completely still as it seemed like all life had just left it.

Immediately all eyes were now on the shirtless demigod, who just began to walk off back to the campgrounds without any form of acknowledgment of what just happened. The anchor rested on his shoulder, and a thick chain wrapped around his upper arm, and a green trident flashed over his head for a brief moment before disappearing.

No one knew what to say. No one knew what to do. Countless new questions all began to run through Zoe's head all at once about the newly announced son of Poseidon.

The only one that even had some form of mental faculties was Chiron. "Uhm, all hail Percy Jackson. Son of Poseidon." He announced, but he just sounded like he was reading from a teleprompter. His mind too disoriented and shocked to announce the claim as he would normally.

For moments no one moved, let alone made a sound. But they were definitely all thinking the same thing as Zoe.

'Who is Percy Jackson?'

**A/N: All right everyone that's a wrap. This is an extra long chapter because this is also a very important part of the canon story. Now some of you are probably going to think that it isn't realistic to make the Fates have to ask for Percy's help. And in many other cases you would be right, but you are forgetting something very important. Percy isn't a normal demigod. He is something else entirely. In League lore Nautilus is described as a being of primordial power so he follows different rules. The fates have no control over him so that means that they can't influence his actions, and as you have seen in the last chapter Nautilus isn't the only one that made his way to their world.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson is property of Rick Riordan and League of Legends is property of Riot Games**

**Chapter 5**

After the disturbing appearance of the Oracle outside of the attic, a meeting was being held on how to proceed. The leaders of the camp, sans the Stoll twins as they were elected to carry the Oracle back into the attic, were sitting around a ping pong table.

Food and drinks were spread around, but no one touched anything. Chiron was sitting at the head of the table, his fingers clasped together, clenching and unclenching them repeatedly, only to show just how serious the situation actually was. On the opposite end sat Zoe and Bianca, who Zoe insisted she come, and Phoebe stood behind them like some sort of bodyguard.

On different sides of the table sat the various leaders of the camp as well as Grover the satyr. Some held stoic masks as they waited while others seemed too jittery to sit still. Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly depending on how you look at it, the only one that wasn't attending meeting was the newly claimed son of Poseidon, Percy Jackson. No one really had much of an idea of what to think of the new camper. With his strange personality, powers, and the fact that while the quest was given to Zoe, it seemed like the quest was focused more around him.

Once the Stoll twins came down the stairs and shaking off what had to be the most uncomfortable job of camp, the meeting started.

"This is utterly ridiculous." Phoebe started off with a snarl. "We have received a confirmation that our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

Thalia looked at the three hunters and saw that Zoe was making no move to stop the Hunter for speaking for her, but rather she sat there with her eyes closed in concentration.

"And where shall you go?" Chiron asked simply.

"West." Bianca spoke up. "The prophecy said to go west to the Goddess in chains. We can get five hunters and go rescue her." Phoebe nodded at her statement.

"Two problems with that thought princess." Thalia spoke up with a small amount of distaste in her voice at the newest Hunter. It may have been childish of her to do so, but something inside her was screaming at the girl for being a coward and abandoning her brother. The thought of willingly leaving a loved one behind so wilingly just didn't sit right with her. She then held up a finger. "One; The oracle said that campers and hunters must become more to prevail. Whatever that means."

"Maybe it means that the Hunters get themselves boyfriends from Camp and become more." Selina Beauregard joked.

The Hunters faces all snapped in her direction, but it was the two oldest hunters that seemed to be trying to kill her with their glares alone. "Don't even joke about something so…so…disgusting!" Phoebe almost shouted.

"What? You swing for the same team? I'm sure that we can find a female camper that would be interested." The daughter of Aphrodite said before a smirk spread across her face. "Though I doubt anyone would want to be intimate with someone as boorish as you."

"Do you wish to die girl?" Phoebe's face became one of pure rage and was meet with a challenging glare from the Aphrodite camper.

"That Is Enough!" Chiron shouted, making everyone jump at how forceful the normally calm trainer of heroes was. "Phoebe, Selina. You two will cease this bickering as there are far more important matters at hand." His gaze brokered no argument, but the hunter seemed reluctant to do so.

"Phoebe," Zoe spoke evenly for the first time. "Stand down. He is correct." This made the huntress finally take her hand away from her knife.

Thalia let out a breath. "And secondly!" She said loudly to get everyone back on track. "Even if you wanted to go, you would have to bring Percy along with you. So that would be four hunters."

"We do not need that male!" Phoebe spat. "We shall be fine on our own."

"Are you sure about that?" Annabeth asked rhetorically. "The Oracle itself specifically asked for him to be on the quest with you to keep anyone else from dying before the prophecy could be complete."

Phoebe subtlety shifted under the eyes of all the campers but refused to back down. She opened her mouth to speak but was beaten to the punch. "He will be going with us." Zoe spoke evenly.

"But Zoe?" Phoebe looked to her leader in shock, and Bianca looked with a little shock as well.

"That is the end of the discussion Phoebe." She said frostily, shutting the girl up. "The fates have spoken, and I will not jeopardize milady's rescue like this." All the while internally Zoe was making sense of bringing the male along as a boon rather than a hindrance. After all one doesn't simply triumph over the entire hunt without earning some modicum of recognition in the Lieutenants mind. 'His strength is unquestionable, and his body is sturdier than anything I have witnessed thus far. If he can keep up, he will be a good asset.'

"All right." Annabeth gave the lieutenant a nod. "Now how do we decide who else goes on the quest?"

"What do you mean?" Bianca asked.

"The prophesy said Campers and Hunters," Chiron spoke. "Campers and Hunters as in plural. I suggest that you not delay the choice much longer. As it stands it is Sunday, and the winter solstice is this Friday. You will need to leave as soon as possible."

"Oh, joy, another dull annual meeting." Dionysus muttered but no one paid the god any more attention than necessary, which on average is almost none.

"Milady must be the present at the solstice," Zoe spoke seriously. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against the titan's army. If she is gone than I fear that we will have lost another year of war preparations."

"Are you suggesting that we gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked, actually looking up from his magazine.

"Yes, Lord Dionysus."

"All right. Just checking. Your right of course."

"I must agree with Miss Nightshade," Chiron spoke. "Artemis's presence at the council meeting is critical. Now we must decide who goes on this quest."

"It obviously needs to be two and two since Percy was already chosen." Josh causally stated. All eyes turned to the blonde self-proclaimed leader of camp. "If the new guy was already chosen than that means we shouldn't really count him. And as such myself and Thalia," He nodded to the daughter of Zeus, who responded with narrowed eyes. "Are the only possible choices." He wanted to appeal by throwing Thalia into the mix to avoid confrontation from the other campers as denying it was one way to spurn the daughter of Zeus's anger.

"Absolutely not." Zoe's voice cut through his proposal like a knife. "I am already bringing one male on this quest. I do not need another." Josh sent the Lieutenant of the hunt a scowl that she returned with a glare. "Besides, we shall only be taking one other camper along with us. The rest of the quest goers will be hunters. I myself shall go, and I will take Phoebe. She is our best tracker." The hunter in question had a smug grin on her face.

"I gotta say that you put up a match." One of the Stoll's spoke up, drawing the hunter's attention to him.

"Yeah, haven't been caught like that in a long time." The other spoke as well.

Phoebe seemed to drink up the praise, despite it coming from males. "Well a hunter needs to be used to fast targets. It was only natural." There were only a few glances at the conversation, but nobody seemed to take too much interest.

"Well, we noticed that you were eyeing this in the camp store." One of the twins held up a shirt for an Artemis hunting tour. "Obviously no one here can wear it, so we figured you would want it."

Phoebe looked at the shirt and then at the twins. Her eyes showed her obvious distrust of the two boys before she gave a shrug and grabbed the shirt and put it over her shoulder.

Once again, no one bothered to stop the interaction.

"As I was saying," Zoe brought the attention back to herself. "I will take Phoebe. And I wish Bianca to go."

The newly made huntress looked stunned. "Me? But… I'm so new. I wouldn't be any good."

"You shall do fine," Zoe insisted. "There is no better way to prove thyself." She gave a small smile of reassurance. Zoe felt that there was potential in the new maiden and as much as she didn't like to think about it, she believes that she may have found her replacement.

"And the campers?" Chiron spoke up. His eyes seemed to look over at two demigoddesses in general, but it was seen as nothing more than a quick glance.

"Me!" Grover immediately threw his hand up with enthusiasm. "Anything to help Artemis!"

Thalia raised a brow at her satyr friend and had to resist rolling her eyes at him. "Grover, you do realize that this means that you'll be traveling very closely to Percy. Right?" And almost immediately his expression fell. Thalia didn't mean to put him down that much, she thought of him as a friend, but she felt a need to go on this quest and she wasn't going to lose it to his fanboyish desires.

"A good thing. He isn't even a half-blood." Zoe said, making Thalia feel a little guilty internally but not by much. "Now which camper would be willing to come."

"I will." Two voices spoke at once. Both of the demigoddess's locked eyes with each other. Electric blue met steely grey.

"Annie," Thalia spoke softly but was cut off by the younger girl.

"I need to go on this quest Thalia. Luke is still out there. If I can talk to him," She said but Thalia didn't need to listen to the rest. She knew that the girl was still hung up after Luke's defections to the side of the titans. Heck even a small part of her still hoped to bring him back, but the difference between the two of them was that Thalia knew why Luke left. She remembers the talks that they had when they were younger about their dislike of the gods. While she said it half-heartedly, there was always something in Luke's eyes that seemed to be teetering on the edge. She was willing to try and bring him back, but if he refused than she knew that there was nothing she could do.

"Annie," Thalia cut the girl off from whatever list of reasons she was saying. "I'm going on this quest." Thalia's tone hardens and she fixes her the hardest glare that she can. For any other person this would never work as Annabeth was often too stubborn for her own good. But Thalia wasn't just any other person.

As the two held their stare off, Thalia was proven right as the blonde folds under her gaze. She held no joy in what she did, but she had a gut feeling that this was the right decision.

"So be it." Chiron spoke, interrupting the tense silence. "Thalia and Perseus will accompany the Hunters. You all shall leave at first light. And may the gods"—he made a not so subtle glance at Mr. D— "Present company included; we hope—be with you."

As soon as the meeting concluded everyone got up to leave, but none faster than Annabeth. Thalia let out a sigh as Annabeth's figure disappeared out the door. Thalia knew she would have to talk to her about this at some point. She didn't mean to strong arm the younger girl out of the quest, but she felt like there was something within her that was telling her to go. And hey if she managed to bring Luke back with her than Annie will just forgive her that much quicker.

But right now? Right now, she had a quest to prepare for.

* * *

**X**

* * *

Dreams. Dreams were always a plague on those born from gods. They could be terrible and frightening and merciless, or peaceful and soothing. They could be of the past, present, or even future. And sometimes they can just mean nothing at all.

This was one of those dreams. A recurring dream that she had long since dismissed ages ago as just her imagination and nothing more. But this didn't stop the dreams in the slightest.

The dream had started the same as it always had, centuries ago. She sat there on a beach, looking out at an unfamiliar ocean and watching as the dark clouds seemed to roll her direction like a tidal wave. Fear coursed through her veins as she watched, but she didn't know why. It was just a storm, and she had experienced many storms over her life. So why did this one make her want to break down and cry. Why did she feel so alone? Why was she feeling these emotions that she had long since forgotten in the company of her sisters? Why do these dreams plague her—was that humming?

Zoe looked around the beach as the sound of soft humming filled her ears. It was soft and melodious song that Zoe was sure that she had heard before, but she couldn't remember where.

"Hello!? Where are thou hiding?" Zoe called out to the empty space around her. But there was no response. There was never a response. No matter how many times she had this dream, she was always alone.

ALONE.

That feeling always seemed to hit her to the core. Like a hole in her being that never seems to be filled completely. That's not to say that she didn't find ways to partially fill the void with the presence of her sisters and goddess, but there was always something missing. Even during her time in the gardens with her sisters were never what she wanted. She craved adventure and discovery with those that would understand her. Maybe that's why she helped Her—

NO!

Zoe slapped herself at the thought. She was naïve back then and too easily trusting. Men were vile beings that only knew how to take and hurt those around them with smiles on their faces.

"But you can trust him." A soft voice whispered in the wind.

"Who said that." Zoe snapped at her surroundings but there was no one around. She was alone just like before.

"He's never let you down before." Another whisper in her ear. Another lie in her mind. There were no good men, there never were and there will be. She could only trust her sisters and her goddess.

"Come out! I tire of thee playing thy games! What god dares enter my mind!" She shouts but she is only met with amused giggles.

"No god here. Only us." The voice says bemusedly as Zoe's scowl deepens. "But that is a tale for another day. You need to wake up. Wake up Zoe. Wak—

"—E UP ZOE!" Zoe opens her eyes to a frightened Bianca shaking her shoulders.

"Wha—What is the matter with thee?" She asks as she looks over Bianca's terrified form.

"It's not me. It's Phoebe." She says and Zoe's eyes widen. She gets up and pushes past the newest hunter and makes her way to her friends location at the opposite end of the cabin, where a group of hunters were all huddling around.

"All of thee need to move." Zoe orders. The Hunters comply and all make a much wider circle to allow their lieutenant to pass and check on the focus of their attention.

Laying in her bed, her face a sickly yellow color and her eyes seemed unresponsive to what was happening around her, lay Phoebe. Next to her was Atalanta, the Hunt's head medic. "Tell me Atalanta? How does she fair?" Zoe asked with concern.

The medic's eyes met Zoe's and Zoe immediately knew how bad the situation was, but she still wanted to hear it out loud. "She's bad." Atalanta spoke up. "She's been heavily poisoned, and while not fatal, she won't be able to do anything for a while. And I can't leave her as the first week is the worst part." She answers Zoe's unasked question.

Biting back a growl in her throat the Lieutenant's eye caught the shirt that she had given Phoebe earlier on the floor. Stepping close she delicately grabbed a hem of the clothing and brought it to her nose. One sniff of the sour smell was all she needed to understand what happened to her friend. Swallowing the round of curses, she wanted to let out, she ordered the hunters to burn the shirt before she stormed out of the cabin into the early dawn, with Bianca hot on her trail.

"Zoe? What's happened? What's wrong with Phoebe?" Bianca asked as the two hunters walked in a random direction. Zoe didn't stop until she came to the dining pavilion of the camp.

"She has been poisoned." Zoe said bluntly. It was better not to beat around the bush with this.

Bianca gasped and looked back at the cabin before focusing on Zoe. "Is there anything we can do? Is there a cure for it?"

"It cannot be cured." Zoe spoke tensely. "Not quickly, at any rate."

"But how did it happen?" Bianca asked.

"A foolish prank," Zoe growled, not even attempting to hid e the venom in her voice. At the edge of her senses Zoe felt like she was being watched, but a quick glance out of the corner of her eye revealed nothing so she dismissed it. "Those Stoll boys from the Hermes cabin. Centaur blood is like acid. Everyone knows that. They sprayed the inside of the shirt with it."

"That's terrible!" Bianca gasped. And in Zoe's mind she couldn't help but think of that as an understatement. She remembered getting some on her in her younger years in the hunt and the sensation was not a pleasant one in the slightest.

"She will live," Zoe reassured. "But she will be bedridden for weeks with horrible hives. There is no way she can go on the quest. It's up to me… and thee."

"But the prophecy," Bianca said. "We'll only have four. We'll have to pick another."

Zoe shook her head. "There is no time to find someone else. We must leave at first light. That's immediately. And the only other one that I would bring on this quest can't leave Phoebe, or her situation could become dire." Zoe tried to explain with words. The younger girl didn't look quite convinced and Zoe didn't expect her to be. After all she wouldn't understand Zoe's true reasons for not bringing another hunter along. Something was telling her not to bring another person along. The lieutenant massaged one of her temples, with that dream in the back of her mind and this new problem in the front, she was beginning to feel the strains of a headache. "Come Bianca. Dawn is breaking." Zoe then walked to the meeting place at a fast pace.

* * *

**X**

* * *

Annabeth let out a deep breath of relief as the two hunters left the area. She had thought that she was caught when she thought that Zoe looked in her direction but was relieved when she didn't do anything. Thank the gods for her invisibility cap.

The daughter of Athena shouldered her backpack and as stealthily as she could and followed the two of them at what she believed was a safe distance. They were hunters after all, caution is certainly warranted if she wanted to sneak into the quest group. She just knew that Luke was out there, and that she could bring him back over to their side. Thalia might seem more willing to give up on him but she wasn't about to She was confident that she could bring him back.

Annabeth crouched at the top of the hill and looked down. The two hunters were making their way down the hill towards the group that was already present around the camp's van. Chiron and Argus were standing there just watching the groups quietly while Thalia and that Percy guy seemed to be deep in conversation. Rather it was Thalia who was talking while the tall demigod just stood there, giving her his attention.

'Probably explaining how quests go. This quest is just too important to depend on a child of Poseidon.' Annabeth thought. Especially one as weird as that one. Though she had never met another child of Poseidon than Percy, she knew, could feel, that there was something off about him and she knew she wasn't the only by the other campers gossip. How Thalia was able to act so comfortably around him for long periods of time was a bit beyond her much to her annoyance.

Annabeth slowly crouched walked closer to the group as Zoe began to talk with Chiron about something. She did her best and managed to sneak behind the van and opened the back door as quietly as she could and slipped through.

The back of the van was mostly empty except for a few stacks of strawberry boxes near the back seats. Deciding that there was no better place to hide, Annabeth shifted the boxes around in order to make a sort of shelter around herself. It wasn't able to completely cover her, but with her invisibility cap it didn't really matter all that much."

"—Bianca will sit up front with me." Zoe's voice said as a bit of the drivers door opened allowing the voices to filter through. Annabeth craned her head to hear better.

"I guess that means we get the back seats." Thalia said gleefully to who she assumed was Percy. "Hey? Where are you going?" Thalia asked and Percy appeared at the double doors of the vans cargo area. Annabeth instinctively pressed herself back as much as she could to hide herself.

"Sit in back. Better." Percy simply stated as he opened both doors and stepped in. Immediately the back of the van dipped, and the vans suspension groaned at the sudden weight. In the front of the van Annabeth heard Bianca gasp as the front of the van went off the ground before settling.

"What is thou doing back there!?" Zoe barked from the driver's seat.

"Nothing." Thalia called back. "Percy's just getting in his seat." That seemed to be enough for the semi immortal hunter as she just huffed instead of giving a response. "But seriously dude," Thalia focused back on Percy with an amused smile. "How much do you weigh. Never seen anyone shift the van before or the sun chariot?"

Percy blushed at the question, but his face held its usual stoic look. "Weigh enough." He muttered.

That caused Thalia to chuckle. "Don't get so embarrassed over such a silly question. I was just curious was all. But you know," Thalia had a sly expression. "If you're back here than that means I get the entire second row to myself!" She said excitedly and slammed the back doors shut, before she reached the sliding door on the side and pilled it open and dove into the long row of cushion. Treating it like a bed and pulling a backpack that Argus must have stowed on the floor to use as a pillow.

As Annabeth was listening to all this happen, she turned back to her newest seat buddy in the cargo space of the van only to freeze. Percy's eyes were glued right on her position, and not in her general direction but rather direct eye contact.

Annabeth felt a shiver go down her spine, like a trickle of water going down her skin. Those multicolored eyes were piercing into her, making Annabeth dig herself into the wall, as if to somehow be able to phase through and escape.

"You Percy." Thalia spoke from the seat ahead, and just like that his attention was completely elsewhere and making the dreaded feeling cease. "I managed to snag a bunch of donuts and thermos of mocha coffee from the kitchen before we left. You want some?" Thalia asked as she held out a bag and a thermos. Percy raised a brow at her. "Hey, I blame you for getting me hooked on the mocha, now do you want it or not?" Thalia spoke on fake irritation and the demigod took the bag of pastries and coffee and began to slowly eat it and not even bothering to look in Annabeth's direction any longer, a grateful occurrence for the Daughter of Athena.

And then like that the van started to move down the road, and the quest to rescue the goddess was under way.

* * *

**X**

* * *

Out in the forests surrounding the outsides of Camp Half-Blood stood a lone man. He was dressed in dark jeans and a black t-shirt and leather jacket. His skin was a bit pale and had very narrowed and angular features. His long black hair was slicked back and braided at the ends. His gaze was focused as he watched the camp's van drive down the road. He removed the binoculars that he was using, revealing poisonous green eyes. A cruel smirk spread across his lips.

"So, she's finally on the move." He spoke in a low, smooth tone. "The boss might get what he wants sooner than he thought. I just hope he doesn't mind if a play with the other 'toys' for a bit." He let out a chuckle that would have sent fear into the hearts of any normal person should they have heard it. He turned around and walked over to his parked motorcycle, the sound of chains rattling with each step of his combat boots. He mounted his ride and pulled his helmet over his head, his green eyes glowing slightly despite the tint on the visor. And with one last laugh, drove from his hiding place to follow the van full of campers in secret.

**A/N: Hey everyone, I'm sorry that this took so long to come out. I've had to deal with some personal issues and its kept me away from the keyboard. Now if you can guess who this mystery man is than congrats and give yourself a get out of corona virus free card. Anyways stay safe all you sexy beasts.**

**Momentei, Over and out**


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson is property of Rick Riordan and League of Legends is owned by Riot Games**

**Chapter 6**

At the moment Annabeth was doing her damnedest not to be flung around the back of the van, lest she be discovered. The first part of the journey had been great, peaceful even. Despite the New York traffic the van was making decent progress.

That all changed when Zoe managed to get on a highway heading south. To say that she was driving like a crazy person would be an understatement. Annabeth was pretty sure that street racers drove more safely than the demi immortal lieutenant. Too many times did the daughter of Athena have to deal with the occasional box from her hiding place shifting, and her whispering silent prayers to the fates that they wouldn't fall on her and blow her cover so soon. She didn't know if the group would decide to ditch her on the side of the road and just Iris message Chiron to come pick her up.

Getting caught by the older centaur was never a good thing. She had heard parts of the lectures from whenever one of the Hermes kids were caught and the guilt trip wasn't something she wanted to face.

The squeaking of the tires and the stop of the engine broke Annabeth from her thoughts as she noticed that they had probably reached their destination. Originally the plan had been to head west, a logical objective due to the prophecy, but Zoe had insisted that they needed to head towards DC. After some arguing with Thalia, some back up from Bianca, and noncommittal grunts from Percy, they just decided to follow Zoe's lead.

Annabeth waited until they were all out of the vehicle, closely following after Percy to escape the back of the truck and nearly getting her ankle caught in the closing door. She quickly ducked around the side of the van and looked over the hood, watching the four questers walk away. She was about to follow when she saw someone out of the corner of her eye.

Just further down the street Annabeth noticed someone get out of a black sedan. Their black trench coat and sunglasses just screamed suspicion in her demigod mind. And if that wasn't enough the gray haired military buzz cut was something that she had seen up close.

Dr. Thorn was here.

Annabeth watched as the disguised manticore followed the group but stopped as they went into the National Air and Space museum. His body seemed unnaturally tense, as if he didn't want to follow them. He shook his head and turned away and walked deeper into the mall.

Annabeth stealthily followed after him, something in her mind telling her to follow after him. After all he wouldn't be here if it didn't mean something important. Annabeth stealthily followed him across the street and up to a building with a large sign in front of the door. It took a brief moment for the daughter of Athena to read it and realize that the word pirate must have actually meant private. Meaning that the room was most likely going to be filled with monsters.

Annabeth dipped through the door and followed behind Thorn, hiding behind different dinosaur skeletons as she went through the large chamber room. Thorn eventually stopped in front of a pair of guards before entering into a room.

As quietly as possible, Annabeth sprinted past the two guards and into the room that Thorn went into. When she turned around, Annabeth almost wished that she had never followed the hidden monster.

Standing on a balcony in the room were at least a dozen mortal guards, along with a pair of dracanae. And standing in between the two snake women was Luke.

Annabeth almost called out to him there, but her self-preservation instincts kicked in preventing her. It was the wise choice as even if she called out to him, she was an intruder surrounded by armed adversaries. She'd probably be dead before she could finish a sentence. Instead she just opted to look at him, to truly see him.

And all she could see was how terrible he looked. Her heart clenched at his pale skin and gaunt features. His scar was an angry red that seemed to draw attention as it sat on his pale skin.

'What have they done to you?' Annabeth thought as she looked at him.

"Well?" A deep and powerful voice spoke, drawing Annabeth's attention from the boy she once thought of as her surrogate brother. Internally she cursed herself for not noticing this man as he was easily the biggest in the room.

Thorn stepped up to the throne that the man was in the throne and gave a stiff bow. "They are here General." He spoke in his French accent.

"I know that." The shadowed man grounded out. "But where?"

"In the rocket museum."

"The Air and Space museum." Luke corrected irritably.

Thorn shot Luke a glare. "As you say, sir." His voice held more venom in its tone than his own stingers.

"How many?" Luke asked but Thorn pretended not to hear him.

"How many?" The general demanded with more force. His tone showing just how done he was with this little spat that was going on between the two.

"Four, General," Thorn spoke. "The girl with the spikey black hair and—how do you say—_punk _clothes." Internally Annabeth was sigh at the manticores whole French stick, because that is exactly how you say punk.

"Thalia." Luke supplied.

"And two other girls—Hunters. One wears a silver circlet."

"That one I know," The General growled, making every shift uncomfortably.

"And what of the fourth one?" Luke asked, switching the topic and for once Thorn responded without any spite or refusal, obviously wanting to be rid of the Generals bad mood. Although his face scrunched up in disgust, meaning this topic was only slightly better than the previous one.

"The _freak_," He spat the word with the venom of a racist slur. "from Westover. The third child that was found."

"My sources say that he was claimed quite recently." Luke spoke up, and Annabeth filed that little tidbit about sources away. "They said that he was claimed by Poseidon, making him a candidate for the prophecy. Maybe there's a way to bring him to our side."

"He isn't." The General said, making Luke and Thorn turn to him with questioning looks. "I can feel its tainted aura from here." The General spoke in disgust as he stood up for the first time and Annabeth finally got a good look at him. He had light brown skin and slicked back black hair on top of a face that looked like it was a depiction of masculinity chiseled from stone. He wore a brown silk suit that seemed to barely fit over his massively muscled frame. His hands were calloused and rough looking and seemed like they could snap a telephone in half like a wooden ruler. Now standing before him, Thorn seemed to be dwarfed by the man. "I have sensed this taint before, but I cannot remember where. It is a wild card in this war and that is something that I cannot tolerate." He spoke with a scowl.

Annabeth frowned. She couldn't understand why they all seemed to be fixated on Percy Jackson. Even this General, who she assumes is the one in charge, meaning that he is either a God or Titan working for Kronos, is wary over the demigod son of Poseidon. He was a demigod, like herself. Granted he seems to be born with what seems like impenetrable skin and monstrous strength, but that was it. Okay maybe given those anyone would be wary but the level of distaste they have is a step above what should be expected, bordering on complete revulsion. And the way they spoke of him showed that they didn't know Percy but knew of him. This only brought up more questions for the daughter of Athena.

Luke stepped forward with a hard look in his eyes. "Then let me take them. We have more than enough—"

Patience." The General cut Luke off. "They will already have their hands full. I have already sent them a playmate, and soon a beast to hunt them down."

Luke looked up at the General in shock, a look that was mirrored by Thorn to a lesser degree. "But General, the creature has proved untamable." Thorn said with astonishment.

The General let a cruel smile spread across his face, a look of superiority. "Untamable, until quite recently that is."

"How?" Was all Luke asked.

"One of our…'allies'," He spoke the term loosely. "was kind enough to help in that regard. Although the control is quite limited, we merely need to point it in the right direction."

"But master why must we use such a beast. I can easily deal with them if I was given—" Thorn tried to appeal to the General, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"No, you have already failed me Thorn."

"But—"

"No excuses!" The General roared, and the room seemed to tremble in response. Thorn flinched under the Generals stare, and Annabeth herself had to hold back from flinching herself. "You have already failed me once Thorn. I send you to retrieve the children and you dared to return empty handed. I don't need further incompetence in my ranks."

"But you promised me revenge." Thorn protested. "A command of my own!"

"I promised you the chance, and it was a complete waste. As Lord Kronos's senior commander, I only reward result! Not the whining of a pathetic creature! Now get out of my sight Thorn, until I find some menial task for you."

Thorn's face turned purple with rage before he stiffly turned around and left the room. The General turned to Luke. "The first thing that we must do boy is isolate the half blood Thalia. The monster we seek will respond to her. The rest…well, they will be dealt with. Bring it in!" The General ordered the two dracanae in the room to slither away before returning with a rather large steel box. The box was almost as tall as the General was and had various holes around it. It didn't take much for Annabeth to piece together that the box was some sort of cage, especially if the low growls that filled the room meant anything.

The two dracanae to leave it in the center of the room. They bowed before backing away, their faces wary of whatever was in the box. Curiously Annabeth edged as close as she dared. She wanted to know what was inside, but she couldn't see inside the cage from the angle she was and she didn't dare move closer in fear of being caught. Although she did have a good look at Luke's face as he stood in front of the cage, yet a healthy distance away. His face was wary like the dracanae but had a mixture awe in it. "Are you sure that it's tamed?" Luke turned to the General.

The mountain of a man let out a soft chuckle. "Of course. Even if it wasn't, the beast would be dealt with by my own hands. Now, quickly do you have the scent?"

"Yessss, Lord." One of the dracanae said and they slithered forward. In her clawed hands was a piece of silver fabric, like the kind the Hunters wore.

"Excellent," The General said as he took the fabric from the snake woman. Clutching it between his fingers he loosely tossed it into the cage. Annabeth heard the sounds of sniffing from within before the sounds turned to growls, then the cage began to shake violently. A massive grey furred hand reached out from the bars, making Luke jump back in fear and making Annabeth flinch. The claw was large and easily big enough to palm her entire head.

A spike of fear traveled down her spine as the growls grew louder and soon Annabeth found herself unconsciously backing away. Not that she was going to argue with her instincts, as whatever this thing was it was dangerous. The daughter of Athena quickly turned on her heel and ran as quietly to the exit as she could. She needed to warn the others. Of their impending playmate and whatever this beast is.

* * *

**X**

* * *

Thalia was many things. A warrior. A leader. A kick ass demigoddess. But a museum goer? That was something that she had never thought of herself. But honestly? She was rather enjoying herself. Normally being surrounded by constant reminders of heights and flying would have put her in a foul mood, but she was actually enjoying herself. Even being on the third-floor balcony wasn't doing anything to her fears. Of course, that didn't mean that she would ever visit high places regularly. Nope! She was a feet to the earth kind of girl. Or make it even better and put her on a boat. The waves were always so soothing.

Although her good mood could also be attributed to the company she was keeping. Thalia looked over at the giant of a teen. His face was mature enough to look like he was a high school grad and along with his height and well-toned body, you'd have a difficult time believing that SHE was the older of the two.

He really was an enigma. And honestly? She liked it. It was a breath of fresh air at the stuffy camp. He didn't put her on some kind of pedestal like the other campers or look at her in awe or fear. He treated her as she was. Thalia Grace. Nobody else.

He didn't talk all that much or express himself, but she believed that she could interpret whatever he meant easily enough through his minor expressions, and so far, she hasn't been wrong. Although usually their conversations tend to have her do most of the talking with his few worded responses. It was awkward at first but she got used to it fairly quickly.

Slowly Thalia's eyes drifted to the maroon clothe that he wore around his neck and the beautiful bracelet on his wrist. She had never seen him take them off and her mind was just itching to know why.

"Hey Percy?"

"Hm?" Was the simple response, his attention no longer on the droves of people walking below them but solely on her.

"I've been meaning to ask…but what's with the accessories? I mean, I didn't really take you for the fashion type."

Percy's dual colored eyes looked into hers before looking at the ground floor again. She noticed his hands slightly tense, an unconscious movement, but one that earned a slightly raised brow when she saw the slightly warped metal railing as his hands left, although she chose not to speak about it. "Hanging on. For friends." He rubbed the cloth tenderly as he spoke. His face a passive look but Thalia noticed to softening in some features as well as his body language.

"Well. If they are friends with you, they must be quite interesting bunch." Thalia leaned her back on the railing as she gave him a smile. He only gave a hum of acknowledgement

"Have either of thee found anything?" Thalia's head turned to find Zoe and Bianca walking over to them. The scowl on the lieutenant's face was all Thalia needed to know that their search turned up fruitless. Percy gave a shake of his head and some how the scowl worsened. "Let us try the bottom floor once more. Maybe there is something we had missed."

Thalia shrugged and made her way to the ramp leading downwards. It wasn't like anyone else had any ideas so down they would go.

Or that would have been the plan if she wasn't rammed full force by a head of blonde hair attached to a child. She was about to hit the Apollo space capsule if Percy hadn't steadied her. She sent him a nod of thanks and turned back to see the two hunters with their bows drawn on the blonde hair…no, on Annabeth.

Wait? Annabeth?

"Annie! What are you doing here?" Thalia asked as she pushed the bows down, Bianca being much more obliging than Zoe, but neither of them objected to Annabeth's appearance.

"Thalia! Thank the gods I found you!" The blonde turned to Thalia. Her mouth running a mile running a mile a minute, as children of Athena tend to do when they get into explaining something. Thalia was barely able to understand her sister in all but blood, but there was one part of her rambling that she did understand.

"Annie!" Thalia shouted, cutting off the demigoddess. "What were you saying about Luke?" As soon as she said the name, she swore she felt the bracelet around her wrist increase in weight.

"Luke." She said, catching her breath. "He's here."

"Where?" The single worded question was all she could ask. Her hands unconsciously tightened and untightened. Annabeth then began to explain everything that she saw. The mortal soldiers, Thorn, Luke, the Beast, and the General.

"The General is here?" Zoe looked stunned. "That is impossible! You lie."

"Hey! Annie isn't a liar." Thalia replied heatedly.

"Look. We don't have time." Annabeth butted into what would have been an argument. "The General is sending…something. I don't even know what it is, but it had him grinning like a madman. As well as another monster to distract you."

"What kind or monster?" Thalia asked. Annabeth shook her head ins disappointment at her own lack of knowledge. The demigoddess of Zeus bit back a curse that threatened to escape her lips.

"If there really is a strong monster," Bianca spoke up for the first time since the conversations started. "Then that may be why we haven't found anything. Is it possible for the trails to have gotten mixed up?" Zoe thought for a second before she lightly grimaced. Thalia noticed that she was steadily becoming more nervous as the seconds passed. The lieutenant took a deep breath to center herself. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off as the sound of clinking chains filled the air next to them. Everyone present turned to the son of Poseidon to see him with slightly narrowed eyes, glaring off the balcony to the bottom floor with his trademark anchor in his hand.

Thalia really needs to ask him where he keeps that.

Below them, the adults all started to panic as they ran in the same direction. Then a low rumbling sound filled the air and increased as something got closer.

"Kitty!" A small child shouted with joy as something bounded into view up the ramp. It was easily the size of a pickup truck with golden fur and metallic claws. Thalia couldn't help but think of how much bigger it looked in person. 'Chiron's stories don't do it justice.' She thought to herself.

"The Nemean Lion." Zoe muttered. And Thalia would have had a snarky comeback ready if it weren't for the piercing gaze of the beast in front of her. "Separate on my mark, and keep it distracted."

"Until when?" Annabeth asked.

"Until I can—" Zoe was about to finish but she was cut off as Percy stepped forward. Inwardly Thalia almost reached out to grab him, but she restrained herself. She knew he was capable enough to protect himself, but what she wasn't suspecting was for him to head straight to the railing and vault over. The steel rails that block people from falling over the edge, dipped and crumbled under his weight, yet still held together.

Thalia felt her jaw drop and most presumably the jaws of the others were open if she could see them. She almost rushed over to the edge before Percy's anchor reached over the edge, and Thalia could have sworn it turned ethereal, and passed through the Nemean lion's body before solidifying. It then captured the beast in on of its hooks, and that combined with Percy's decent, quickly dragged the monster over the edge with him and presumably to the ground floor.

It took a brief moment for Thalia to get over the shock before she raced off with weapons at the ready. "What are you waiting for! Move!" She shouted like a commander at the others, but she didn't turn back to them. Her friend needed her.

* * *

**X**

* * *

Percy felt the ground crack beneath his feet, the building trembled as he landed. He needed to get to a more open area if he wanted to fight. Its not that he couldn't fight up there, it was more that he didn't want to accidentally hit Thalia as she was right next to him. She was a front-line fighter like him so being in a sort of confined pathway would have inevitably having him swinging his anchor way to close to her.

He didn't want that at all. She was his first friend in years.

The sad thought brought with it a feeling of loneliness that the demigod squashed down as soon as it arrived. There was no reason for that. He had a new friend now.

THOOM!

Percy turned as a second body fell next to him. The massive body of the Nemean lion laid on its side before it started to get up. Its eyes narrowed as it let out a loud growl at Percy, but the demigod showed no fear at the challenge. Instead he charged at the lion and swung his anchor in a massive arc. The Nemean lion not lunged forward only to take the full force of the strange weapon to its side.

It roared in pain as it was flung into a wall, causing a massive indent in the concrete to form. The Nemean Lion shook the grogginess from its head and narrowly avoided a blow to the skull from Percy as the anchor embedded itself into the wall.

Faster than a beast of its size usually moves the lion then pounced on the demigod and Percy could feel his shirt being torn to shreds as it tries to bite into his skin. Percy twists the Nemean Lions head, ripping its hold from his body before tossing it. "Percy!" The demigod took a moment to look at the voice calling out to him. Silver arrows began to pelt the monster from above.

Thalia came barreling down the ramp, spear and shield in hand. "Do you always pull such stupid stunts!" She growled, her eyes only barely leaving the Nemean Lion in order to look him over for injuries. Not that had any, though once again his shirt was torn to pieces.

If Percy was paying attention, he would have seen the daughter of Zeus's face turn a shade of red at his state of undress.

"Ground was better. More room." He simply stated as he hefted his anchor over his shoulder.

"Whatever." Thalia mumbled. "Just give me a warning next time. Now go!" She ordered and Percy charged straight at the Lion with Thalia right behind him. He brought his anchor low and swung upwards once he was close enough. The Lion now wary of the pain from the massive instrument dodged to the side, where it was meet with an electrified spear from Thalia. While the weapon bounced of its coat like any other, the electrical charge it carried hurt far more. The two of them kept this strategy of tag team. Percy hitting with the force of a truck, while Thalia capitalized on any dodges. Any counters were warded off by Aegis or blocked by Percy's steel skin and anchor.

"Thalia!" The voice of Annabeth called out from somewhere in the room. "Aim for its mouth! Its fur is invulnerable but that's it!"

Thalia blinked a few times and them sort of facepalmed with her spear in her hand. "Percy, I need that mouth open. Zoe, Bianca aim for the eyes." Thalia ordered, not even bothering to see if they would agree.

Percy nodded at her orders and charged forth, his anchor striking the ground like a golf swing as arrows rained down. The strike brought up debris and dust from the floor making the Lion reel back as its senses were clogged. The demigod then dropped his anchor and reached out, wrestling the massive beast. His hands gripped around its mouth as he used his impressive strength to pry open its maw.

Normally this would have impressed Thalia, because she held no false beliefs that it was easy to stick your hands any creatures mouth while being clawed at, but she knew that her chance was quickly approaching.

Percy let out a grunt as the monster clawed away at him. Striking his face, his body, anything really. Faint scratch lines were beginning to form on his skin, not really damaging in any way, but they were starting to create red lines. Thalia didn't have any time to waste as she strode forward, her spear crackling with lightning. She was about to end the fight there and now when a bone chilling roar echoed through the room as something charged straight into Percy and forcing him to release his grip on the Nemean Lion.

Whatever it was that hit Percy, hit with the force of a truck and clawed away at him with the ferocity of a wild animal. On instinct his body began to flare with sea green light and a barrier formed around his body, forcefully ejecting his assailant off of him.

Percy turned around with his anchor cocked into a striking position but froze.

In front of him was the largest wolf that he had ever seen, or rather the largest werewolf he had ever seen. Even hunched over he towered half a foot over Percy's 6'5 form. Ratted gray fur coated its muscled and scarred body, only a pair of ratty pants covering its waist. Its face set into a permanent sneer with its oversized canine teeth jutting out from its jaw, along with massive ears on top of its twitching back and forth, no doubt tracking everyone in the room. The bronze machines on its body let out quiet hums and hisses as the green fluid coursed through the tubes and into its body.

He himself had never meet the beast but he knew Sarah had. In one of her few trips to the chemical slums of Piltover and Zaun she became very aware of the monsters that lurked in its dark recesses. He remembered each of her stories in much detail, and as he looked into the burning hateful eyes of the creature in front of him, he can surely say that her tales were very accurate.

Standing in front of the reborn Titan of the Depths was the Uncaged Wrath of Zaun.

* * *

**X**

* * *

Internally Zoe was having a steaming. The search through the museum hadn't turned up anything useful as the powerful monster wasn't the one, they were looking for.

Granted the Nemean Lion was a formidable opponent, and there wasn't much better of a prey for Bianca's first hunt. But with her Lady in trouble, Zoe would have preferred a much weaker monster.

Currently Zoe was firing arrows from atop one of the old planes suspended in the air between the balconies as they made for surprisingly good vantage points to fire from. Not that it mattered as the arrows bounced off the beast's indestructible hide.

The only way to kill the Lion would have to be to rely on the strange boy beneath her once more, a thought that irked her less than it should. She watched as he wrestled with the monster, both of their bodies like unyielding walls. The Nemean Lion bit and clawed at Percy as he fought it but it only seemed to be doing aesthetic damage where as the Son of Poseidon's weapon and body seemed strong enough to by pass the impregnable hide and damage the Lion's insides if the faint sounds of pain were anything to go by. That along with Thalia's occasional electrical strike put the monster entirely on the defensive. Any attempt to escape was cut off by the agile Daughter of Zeus and any retaliation was ineffective against the unbreakable wall that was the Son of Poseidon. It would only be a matter of time before it was killed, even quicker since the Daughter of Athena had told them its weakness.

Oh, yes. She was going to be her own headache to figure out later.

She watched as Percy went and wrestled the Lion into submission before brute forcing its mouth open. Not something she would consider as a hunter, but it worked so she was not one to complain. An arrow was already in her bow and she knew Bianca was prepared as well to fire at a moments notice should Thalia some how manage to screw it up.

But things wouldn't be so easy. As if on cue a massive furred creature rocketed from the second balcony straight at Percy and attacking him. His grip on the Nemean Lion was relinquished as he tried to remove the rabid creature from his body.

Once more Zoe noticed a green aura start to form around the demigod before exploding and dissipating. The force enough to launch the beast away for Zoe to get a good look.

It was lupine in nature and vaguely resembled Lycaon and his pack, but other than being an obvious werewolf that's where the similarities ended. Whereas other werewolves were lanky and lean this beast was a towering behemoth of machine and muscle. Crude metal pieces and tubes seemed to be fused to the beast's skin as a mysterious concoction was pumped into its body.

Zoe briefly looked over to Percy and what she saw gave her a scare.

The demigod had long since lost his shirt in the battle with the Nemean Lion and had since been discarded, but that wasn't what scared her. No. What scared her were the multitude of scratches along Percy's chest shoulders and back. They weren't deep by any means or threatening. But they did do something that the Nemean Lion couldn't.

They made him bleed.

It wasn't much. A few droplets had smeared a bit of red on his toned torso, making it distinguishable. As far as she knew the son of Poseidon had yet to be injured by anything. Mot the Hunt's weapons, not by the manticore, not by falling three stories, and not even by the Nemean Lion. What ever this new monster was, it was able to pierce Percy's iron skin. She internally shivered at what it would do to a normal person.

Zoe shook her head of such thoughts. They would only serve to distract her from the task at hand. "Bianca! Switch targets to the wolf!" Zoe ordered as she saw Percy and the wolfman charge at each other. The wolfman's speed and agility something else to the demigod as it clawed away at him from multiple angles. Percy blocked with his anchor and occasionally threw out a punch, ones that were strong enough to shatter stone. The beast didn't seem to care for the ones that hit, whatever was being pumped into it was obviously inhibiting its pain receptors.

Zoe looked back to the fight between the demigoddess's and the Nemean Lion. She could let Bianca support Percy as the wolf didn't have the same impenetrable hide.

Thalia was flourishing Aegis at the Lion. Its enchanted visage causing the beast to back up. The daughter of Athena was nowhere to be seen, but if the occasional sparks around the Lions face were anything to go by, she was somehow invisible. Zoe rained down arrows on The Nemean Lion as she hopped from plane to plane.

Zoe grit her teeth as she realized that she wasn't getting anywhere. Her arrows weren't cutting it and she didn't have Annabeth's invisibility to get close with her knives.

"Percy!" Thalia shouted and Zoe barley looked over as the demigod bull rushed straight into the Nemean Lion, using the werewolf as a body shield.

The three of them slammed into the concrete walls, the impact shaking the building. The two beasts struggled as Percy pinned them to the wall. The Son of Poseidon let out a roar as he grabbed one of the wolfman's flailing arms, the nonmechanical one, and snapped it at the forearm. The wolf didn't even howl in pain as it tried to claw at Percy with its on usable arm.

Thalia didn't even wait and rushed over to help her friend, but rather than attack the wolf, she went for the lion. Using a nearby exhibit the demigoddess leapt off an old space capsule and pointed her spear down wards, thrusting it into the eye of the Nemean Lion. Unlike its fellow beast, the Lion did feel the pain as the sharp spear sunk into its eye. It let out one last roar as Thalia decided to add to the attack and electrified her spear, frying the Lions insides before it exploded into gold dust.

Like they had it all planned out before hand, Percy renewed his hold on the werewolf and slammed it into the wall. He immediately rained down punches on the monster. Zoe watched as he beat the beast into submission. Each punch was uncoordinated, opting for quantity over quality, but it didn't seem to matter as each strike seemed to shake the room. The cracks in the walls seemed to grow with each blow.

The werewolf's body was becoming nothing more than a mangled mess of fur, metal and broken silver arrows. One Punch dislocated a jaw, another crushed ribs, one broke an arm. The thing was more than likely dead on its feet, but just for good measure the reborn Titan grabbed the mad beast by the throat and threw him into an exhibit down the hall. The impact causing the WWII biplane to collapse into a wreckage on top of it.

Everything went still as Zoe hopped down from her vantage point, reconvening with the others. The sound of alarms and screaming people echoed throughout the museum, but none of them payed it any attention. The girls were trying not to look directly at Percy's bare toned chest yet again.

"Aw yeah! We kicked ass!" Thalia said with a massive grin on her face and a slight blush. She was trying to change the subject. Over her shoulder she carried the pelt of the Nemean Lion. A trophy that rightfully belonged to her as she killed the lion. One that Zoe had to suppress the urge to scowl at.

Zoe looked at Percy, his face was now its normal stoic expression, but his eyes seemed to glow subtly with power. A small twitch of the corner of his mouth was the only indication of any joy he had at the moment. "A bit…brutish, but you handled yourself well." Zoe spoke slowly to Percy. The act of complementing a male was foreign to her but it wasn't as hard as she expected. It also helped that he never boasted and only gave a brief nod in response.

"Put that on." Annabeth ordered as she tossed a shirt that she managed to scrounge from somewhere to Percy. The demigod complied and the group felt the last of their tenseness float away as Percy was now fully clothed in a space shuttle T-shirt. "We need to leave immediately." Annabeth brought up.

Zoe nodded. There was no point in arguing. There were now five members of the quest. "Agreed. Now we head west."

**X**

It had been hours since the attack on the Museum of Air and Space. Detective Sterling and Detective Palomo walked into the secluded crime scene.

"Shit. Would you look at that?" Detective Palomo whistled as they passed by a massive indent in the wall. The cracks almost reaching towards the ceiling. "Did someone have a demolition derby in here?"

Detective Sterling let out a snort. "Who knows. But it just leaves more evidence for us. Did those security guards say where the monitor room is?"

"Yeah, past that old wreckage of the Sopwith Camel." Palomo pointed out as he led his partner past the exhibit.

As the two detectives passed the trashed the exhibit neither noticed the mangled arm that was forcibly snapping its bones into place as its skin stitched back together.

**X**

"_This is Julia Reed from Channel 4, reporting to you at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. What was once a normal day at the museum became a day of terror as multiple unknown assailants were seen demolishing the exhibits. Earlier attempts at an investigation by the police were met with casualties. Channel 4 news offers its condolences to the families of Detective Scott Sterling and Detective Charles Palomo. Due to the level of violence done to the two detectives we have been banned from showing any scenes of the crime on air." The reporter takes a deep breath. "If anyone out there has any information on the assailant they are advised to report their findings to the nearest police station. Civilians are advised to stay indoors as the assailant is reported to be incredibly violent and any forms of confrontation is ill advised. Back to you Dave."_

**A/N: Its not dead. And Percy is not the only confirmed legend on earth. Warwick has been captured by the Titans and is being used as their hunter. Anyways stay safe you sexy beasts.**

**Momentei, Over and out**


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson is property of Rick Riordan and League of Legends is owned by Riot Games**

**Chapter 7**

As of this moment Zoe was feeling a tidal wave of emotions. Anxiety, impatience, anxiousness, fear. So many emotions were going through her head that she didn't know what to feel.

"We need to go faster!"

"That helicopter is still following us."

"The military won't do shit. They probably think it's theirs!"

"…"

Actually. The Lieutenant is just going to settle on being absolutely pissed.

"Agitation and impatience spoil the hunt. Agitation and impatience spoil the hunt. Agitation and impatience spoil the hunt." Zoe repeatedly mumbled the mantra over and over again as she felt her temper begin to break. Each of her companions were shouting different things at the top of their lungs, none of which were helping in the slightest. Surprisingly it was the Son of Poseidon that was bothering her the least. It would be a bit of a stretch, but she would honestly prefer just his company over the other—Zoe blinked as she wondered where that thought was leading to.

The huntress shook her head as she swerved across two lanes of traffic and into some parking lot that Bianca pointed out.

As soon as Zoe stopped, everyone jumped out of the van and raced down the steps and into the subway. No one appeared to be following them as they bought their tickets and hopped on a train southbound from D.C.

"Good idea with the Subway." Annabeth complemented as they sat down in the departing train.

Bianca blushed a bit at the compliment but look incredibly pleased. "Well, I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised since it wasn't there when we used to live in D.C"

Annabeth looked confusedly at the girl and Zoe herself had to raise a brow. "But that station looked like its been there for years."

Bianca shrugged. "I guess, but trust me, when we lived here as kids there was no subway."

"Wait a minute. No subway at all?" Thalia asked as she sat forward. Zoe herself was also becoming intrigued and yet the answers that she was coming up with were also filling her with a sense of dread.

"Bianca." Zoe spoke carefully. "How long ago…" The words caught in her throat. She remembered that the subway system was built sometime around 1960's, as the hunt had been around searching for a group of cyclops in the area.

The sound of rotor blades getting louder made all heads snap to look out the windows. "We need to change trains." Thalia said.

* * *

**X**

* * *

Over the next half hour, the group hopped from train to train until they finally managed to lose the helicopter. The only problem however was that in the process of escaping they all ended up at the industrial district.

The entire place looked abandoned. Like something straight out of a movie set with abandoned barrels, cars, and broken windows. Railroad cars sat abandoned on rusted tracks. Snow covered the ground in a blanket of white. It was so cold that sheets of frost were partially formed on any glass.

Thalia was extremely grateful for the lion skin coat.

The only person other than them was some homeless guy sitting around a trashcan fire. He turned and gave the demigods a toothless grin. Thalia wasn't so sure about the guy, but the others seemed to cold to care about the danger.

With a sigh she followed after them. Its not like they would be in too much danger. Percy fought a werewolf and the Nemean Lion with his bare hands, Zoe's got two millennia worth of training under a goddess, and Thalia herself was a certified demigoddess badass. It was relatively safe.

Thalia huddled around the fire with the other. Bianca and Annabeth stood the closest to the fire while Percy stood the farthest, showing no signs of discomfort to the cold despite the lighter clothes he wore.

Annabeth's teeth were audibly chattering. She spoke slowly. "M-My fingers a-are n-numb."

"I can't feel m-my f-face." Bianca followed. "Maybe w-we can c-contact camp an—"

"No," Zoe firmly denied her. "They can't help us anymore. We must finish this ourselves."

Thalia bit a silent curse as she mulled over their current predicament. Little money. No transportation. Stuck in the cold. At the rat things were going the deadline will have passed by the time they reach Artemis.

"You know," The homeless man spoke up. "you're never completely without friends." He gave the group a kind, yet gross, mostly toothless smile. "You kids need a train going west?"

"You wouldn't happen to have one on you." Thalia spoke sarcastically.

He just pointed one greasy hand down the tracks.

There sitting on the rails was a gleaming freight train free of snow. The train seemed to be carrying multiple exotic cars on its triple deck beds. On the side of the train in bright golden letters it read SUN WEST LINES.

Annabeth's eye twitched involuntarily. "Are you fucking—That's so blatantly obvi—" She turned to the homeless guy whose identity was quite obvious, but he was gone along with the flaming trashcan.

"Lets j-just g-go. I'm-m freezing" Bianca quickly shuffled of towards the train.

Thalia and the rest followed after and just barely caught sight of her silver jacket before it disappeared in a silver Lexus. Zoe just let out a sigh before following her.

Annabeth hopped in a Lamborghini and immediately went to working on the wires of her car, probably to get the heating turned on.

Thalia turned to Percy, who was looking at the exotic cars with a hint of disdain. She had to restrain the bit of laughter that threatened to come up and clamp a hand over her twitching mouth.

You see, these cars were a -literal-godsend to everyone but the son of Poseidon.

Why?

Each of these cars were built for someone much smaller than Percy.

Percy scowled at the offending vehicle before giving Thalia a nonplussed look. The daughter of Zeus couldn't help but let out a snort as an image of the 6'5 giant next to her trying to fit in the two people European sportscar in front of them. "You gonna be okay."

Percy leaned back until his body hit one of the beams of the transport. His body slowly falling till he sat on the floor. "I'll sleep outside."

"You sure? It's pretty cold and it'll just get worse once we start moving." Thalia asked with a hint of concern, but Percy's defiant look told her all she needed on the matter. Also, it wasn't like she could force him. "Do you at least want my coat?"

Thalia let out a sigh at the polite rejection. "Move over then." Thalia said kicking Percy's leg so she could open the door to the car in front of her. It didn't take much for Thalia to hot wire the car and activate the heating and radio. And using her new coat as a blanket the punk girl quickly fell asleep to alt rock.

**X**

The crashing of waves.

The sound of the wind.

Thalia strode across the deck of her ship, which was weird since she doesn't really own anything, but somehow, she knew this ship was hers.

She was older if the increase in her…proportions were anything to go by. Her heels clicked on the wooden deck as she paced irritably.

"You know pacing isn't going to help."

Thalia turned around to see Zoe of all people laying in a makeshift hammock. Her expression was oddly relaxed, something Thalia never thought that she would see on the Lieutenant.

"I know but I prefer to do it anyway." Thalia snapped back, but there was no heat to it. Her body shifted till she was overlooking the rest of the ship. She watched as a bunch of people dressed in what could only be considered as pirate outfits or old-time sailors. "You know I hate waiting."

"Yeah, yeah." Zoe waved off in a casual manor, freaking Thalia out by a little bit as she was never so casual. "You did tell him the coordinates of where we are right?"

"Of course, I did." Thalia scoffed. "But I wouldn't put it past him to be late…or just be lost in general." Thalia let out a small sigh.

"And once again I must ask why he's the one leading us to this new island?" Zoe asked, not really looking too concerned at being lost as she fiddled with some glowing stones. "I mean don't get me wrong. I love the big guy, truly. But he's not always the best to handle complex tasks."

"Yeah, but he's traveled more of these oceans longer than anyone else. You'd think he knows where everything is."

Zoe hummed in acceptance. "Have you ever thought of sailing to Ionia?" She asked.

Thalia raised a brow at the random question. The name sounded familiar but for the life of her she couldn't remember, but her mouth apparently did. "Why would I ever want to go there?"

"I don't know. Vacation? Adventure? Business?" Zoe listed off. "I heard that they have great seafood and these little things called dumplings." She spoke in a wistful tone as she seemed to be imagining the food. Thalia could have sworn that she saw a glimmer in her eyes and a rather comical drop of drool coming out of the girl's mouth. She had to bite back a laugh at the dreamy expression on the normally serious girls face.

"I still feel a bit weird watching you eat seafood." Thalia shook her head though she let a smile grace her face.

"Yeah well you just need to get—" Zoe stopped mid-sentence and got up to peer over the railing of the ship. "He's here."

Thalia strutted over and leaned on the railing. A dark spot had just situated itself on the starboard side of the ship. Its presence had turned the waves into an eerie calm, almost like a smooth pane of glass. A pair of deep orange orbs looked up from the center of the dark mass.

Thalia remembered when she first saw those orbs. Their gaze sent a disturbed chill down her spine, like an abyss that was staring right into her soul. But over time that feeling faded and now she felt a sense of comfort in their dim glow.

"Glad to see that you haven't gotten lost. You ready to go?" The water rippled in response. Thalia smirked. "Well let's get going."

Before the first order could be made, Thalia's eyes snapped open from the dream.

The sound of rushing wind snapped her attention to the outside. She felt the blood drain from her face as she looked out the window of the car, she was in.

There standing at the edge of the of the train car was Percy. His feet were halfway off the edge as he gazed into the darkness of night.

Thalia wasted no time opening her door and lunging out. Her hands reaching out to grasp something but finding nothing as the Son of Poseidon took that last step outside.

"PERCY!" She screamed as she watched his figure descend into the dark outside world. She desperately reached out with her senses, silently cursing her lack of skill with her abilities over the wind. She pushed further and further, the deep wind currents telling her that the train was high above the ground at the moment.

There was something in the background making noise, but she didn't care as she sent even more winds out to find her friend.

"—lia! Thalia!" A forceful hand dragged Thalia back into the train car. She was about to snap at whoever pulled he back, until she saw it was Annabeth. The other girls had all come down from their cars and were watching as Annabeth tried to talk to her. "Thalia. What's going on?"

"What? You didn't see? Percy jumped out of the train car." Thalia could feel the panic in her voice spread to the others. Each of them gaining worried looks. Oddly enough Zoe seemed to be the most worried as Thalia watched her spare glances to the open door.

"Why would he do that?" Zoe asked seemingly to everyone.

"How should I know!?" Thalia snapped. "I was sleeping and then woke up. Then he just…jumped out of the train."

"But this doesn't make sense." Annabeth muttered. "Why would he just leave. The prophecy doesn't have anything to do with this."

"Maybe he just decided to leave." All present turned to Bianca. Her voice shook as she herself didn't seem to believe what she was saying. "The oracle said that the fates can't do anything to him."

"Like hell he would just leave!" Bianca moved more behind Zoe as Thalia snapped at her.

The lieutenant glared at the daughter of Zeus, who met it with just as much fire. "Rather than make assumptions it would be better if we just focus on our quest." She didn't let anyone else get another word in as she walked off. Bianca swiftly following after.

"It just doesn't make sense. He would never leave when he's needed." Thalia grumbled to herself, but it seemed to be loud enough fir Annabeth to catch.

"How do you know?" She asked. Her eyes locking on to Thalia as she seems to be looking for unseen answers. "You've barely known the guy for a few days and you already trust him more than the other campers."

"Is this really the time Annie?"

"Just explain it too me then. I remember you being the least trusting when we were on the run years ago. But then this new guy shows up and he's your new best friend. Are you crushing on him?"

Thalia's face blushed a deep crimson at the accusation. "WHAT!? NO!" She shouted but judging by the look that Annabeth was giving her she didn't seem entirely convinced. "It's just…I don't know, okay." Thalia let out a breath as she tried to explain. "It's like I have this strange feeling in my gut that I can trust him. And not like a passing feeling. Like…like a feeling that you know something is just meant to be. Like a puzzle with a missing piece…you know."

Annabeth's mouth flattened into a line as she stared at her surrogate sister. "Maybe…he'll show up later."

Thalia just nodded. And watched as Annabeth climbed back into her car on the second story of the train car.

"Jeez. What kinda guy just leaves a girl hanging." A mysterious voice spoke causing Thalia to leap into action. Her spear was already in her hand and its bladed point was resting on the throat of the homeless man that had helped them earlier. "Woah, woah. No need for the hostilities." He gave Thalia a bright white smile as her raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Your lord Apol—"

"Whup up up!" The god cut her off. Thalia blinked and he disappeared only for her to feel an arm sling itself over her shoulder. "I'm incognito at the moment. You can just call me Fred. Or the Lord of Awesome. Actually, I think Lord of Awesome sounds pre—"

What are you here for Fred?" Thalia cut him off before he could speak further.

"Dang it." Fred mumbled before switching back to his more chipper demeanor. "I have actually come to get a good look at how your quest is going."

"How our quest is goi—shouldn't you already know? You're the god of prophecy after all."

"Normally you'd be right." Fred took his arm from around Thalia's shoulders and walked in front of her and leaned against her car. "Any other quest from my oracle gives me more insight than most. Not enough to see everything but enough. But this time…" Fred's expression soured. "This time I can barely see a thing."

"What do you mean you can't see?"

"I mean…" Fred stuck Thalia with a serious look. "I can't see what's happening. Whether its some titan powers masking them, or something like that…_friend_ of yours," Thalia noticed the way he said friend, but chose not to say anything. "anyways we gods are just as lost about this as you all are."

"So you can't help us."

"Well I'm helping you. I mean," He gestured to the train around them. "but I can't say anything about the rest of the gods."

Can you at least tell me what happened to Percy? He wouldn't have left without a reason." Thalia demanded.

"Yeesh little sis," Thalia beat down the urge to snap at him for that. "you sure do ask the hard questions, but luckily it comes with the easiest and oldest answer in the universe."

"And that answer would be?"

"I don't know." Fred said with a lazy shrug.

Thalia was resisting the urge to hit him over the head. The desire so great she was unconsciously letting out sparks of electricity. "Oh, would you look at the time. I guess I have to go." Fred said looking at an imaginary watch.

That broke Thalia's irritation. "Wait I still have more ques—" But she would never finish her sentence as the incognito god snapped his fingers and the next thing, she knew was that she was waking up in her car once more.

* * *

**X**

* * *

By morning the train had stopped just outside of the mountains in a little town called Cloudcroft. Snow was heaped everywhere along the streets but luckily there wasn't a cloud in sight. Zoe was looking over their group and taking in how everyone was.

Bianca looked like she had gotten a good night's sleep in the car. The blessings of the hunters having worked wonders on her physique and mentality.

Annabeth looked as if she was gazing at something in the distance but trying to focus on what was in front of her at the same time. She was concentrating on a task. Most likely trying to figure out why the quests supposed guard left in the middle of the night.

Then there was Thalia. The daughter of Zeus was putting on a strong front for the others, but Zoe had worked with enough hunters over the centuries that she knew how to read people. The girl was oozing worry. Her stance was guarded and her eyes searching, most likely for their lost companion.

Normally Zoe would just dismiss the absence of the male as running away, but she just couldn't bring herself to think ill of the missing son of Poseidon. It perplexed the huntress greatly because in the back of her mind was a feeling that he only left for a specific purpose. Not a whim, never a whim when it came to him.

"How the Hades are we supposed to get out of here." Thalia's irritated tone brought Zoe back to focus. "There's no taxi service, car rental, or bus station anywhere. We are stuck."

"We can ask for information from the locals." Annabeth brought up.

"Fine." Thalia grumbled. "Annie and I'll go to the grocery store and ask around. Someone else go to the coffee shop."

"You think there will be more people in the coffee shop?" Bianca asked.

Thalia raised a brow. "No. It's just barely seven in the damn morning and I need something to get through the day. And I want a large mocha with an extra shot. Mornings fucking suck." The demigoddess grumbled tat last part under breath as she dragged the daughter of Athena to the grocery store.

Zoe let out a sigh as she made her way to the coffee shop with Bianca following behind. Normally she would be the one giving the orders, but these were ones that she could agree with. Ever since Lady Artemis had returned to the hunt with the concoction known as coffee, the Lieutenant had grown a small dependency on the ground up bean.

The bell chimed as the two huntresses walked through the door. The barista barely putting on a tired smile as she stood up from her leaning position. Zoe scanned her surroundings, finding at least three exits and four defensive positions.

The rest of the interactions in the coffee shop were normal, but sadly fruitless as the two hunters found out that the only form of transportation was a taxi company down the mountain that would take at least an hour to reach where they were, and the expenses went beyond what they had at the time.

Zoe was met with audible groans as she relayed the information to the other two questers. The quartet was currently sitting on a bench, sipping their drinks as the each tried to figure out a way down the mountain.

"I'm just saying we can probably hot wire a car and—"

"We are not stealing a car." Annabeth shot Thalia down. The daughter of Athena bringing up different reasons on how it was a bad idea, such as police trying to capture them and no way for them to pay for gas if the tank ran empty, and what if they we left out in the middle of nowhere.

These were all legitimate reasons not too, but internally Zoe was wanting to find some form of transportation soon, even if they need to steal one. Besides hijacking a car and a high-speed chase sounded like it could be fun.

The huntress blinked at that stray thought. It wasn't the first out of the ordinary thought that she had recently but that one was way out there. Never in her life had she wanted to do something so needlessly brazen and extreme.

"Annabeth is correct. To steal a car would only invite more trouble than thou need." Zoe had to fight off the strange urge to sigh in disappointment.

"Hey Zoe?" Bianca whispered, tugging on Zoe's sleeve. The girl gave a side glance of attention. "Has that guy been setting off any warnings to you?"

Zoe made a quick sweep of their surroundings until she spotted who it was that Bianca was looking at. The man was at least around six feet tall, dressed in all black bicker clothes. His pale skin contrasting with his dark color scheme. His pitch-black hair hung down too his shoulders with hooks braided in the ends. His eyes were a poisonous green that just seemed wrong. The man seemed to be undressing them with his gaze. Normally this would have enraged Zoe, but the feeling in her gut was telling her that he wasn't looking at her with lust. Rather he was looking at her with anticipation for something else.

Zoe wasn't sure which she would have preferred.

"We need to leave." Zoe spoke in a low tone as she all but dragged the others away. The man never leaving her gaze.

"We can't leave. We don't have any way to leave." Thalia argued.

"Then we shall steal a car."

"But you just said—"

"I know what I said!" Zoe snapped but then she realized her mistake as she took her eyes off the man.

"Now where might you all be going?" A smooth voice spoke from in front of them. Zoe nearly jumped at the sudden noise. 'How had he gotten in front of them?' She thought.

"That is none of thy business." Zoe spoke in a voice that made many males flinch. Not this man. Rather he seemed to be amused by the sold demeanor.

He gave Zoe a poisonous smile. "Well seeing as there are four girls trying to find a way out of town. I, as the good Samaritan I am, thought to lend you a hand."

"No thank you." Was her immediate reply as she tried to walk around him but was stopped by his outstretched arm.

"You see, that's the thing. None of you have any choice in the matter."

"And who decided that?" Thalia snarled as she tried to kill the male with her glare alone.

"Why the boss of course." He said as his smile seemed to stretch a little to wide and his eyes glowed with madness. His skin started to peel from his face as green flames lapped at his skin. The chains that he had around him began to emit the same green fire. "And let me tell you. He h**as been quite eager." **

The girls all took a step back as green flames covered his whole form, burning away his skin and clothes. It was only a couple of seconds but each of the demigoddess could have sworn that the were watching for what felt like minutes.

Out of the flames the thing stepped. Its body nothing more than an obsidian skeleton wrapped on eldritch flames. Three bone locks sprouted from the top of his head, almost like some bastardized kind of hairstyle. His biker outfit burned away, making place for a black robe with pieces of bone along the hem.

Zoe looked at the burning monster in front of her and immediately felt a sense of wrongness about it. It felt wrong! it looked wrong! Everything about it just seemed to be a mockery of death itself.

Then she heard it. The sounds. The screams. It was faint but with her hunters blessing she could hear it if she strained her ears. The cacophony of souls that all seemed to be emanating from the lantern chained to its waist. Her instincts were telling her to run away, but a little voice in the back of her mind refused that action, knowing that running is exactly what that thing would want.

This thing.

This monster.

This eldritch abomination.

"Thresh." She whispered, but it might have been as loud as a gunshot based how she now had everyone's attention.

"**Oh?" **Thresh looked over Zoe in interest. **"It has been quite some time since someone had last spoken my name."**

"Your name won't matter once your dead." Thalia glared at the wraith as she brought up her spear and shield aegis. The inherent fear curse doing nothing to the ghost but making it give a short laugh.

A chinkling sound filled the air.

"Get back!" Zoe yelled as she pulled the other girls back as Thalia instinctively raised her shield to avoid having a large hook scythe going through her neck. The force behind the hit was another matter entirely as the demigoddess was knocked back over two meters from where she was.

No one needed any prompting as each of them pulled out their weapons.

"Any ideas on who this is and how we beat him?" Annabeth asked as she held her knife in an ice pick grip.

"I would suggest running, but something tells me he would like that." Bianca whimpered as Thresh cackled lowly in amusement.

"Surround him. Hit him from all sides." Zoe ordered and then began to let loose arrows at the chain warden.

Thresh waved his sickle and batted the projectiles out of the air before throwing his weapon at the girls separating them. Zoe leapt to the left as the other two went right.

Zoe nocked an arrow in her bow and was about to fire but was forced to dodge as Thresh had already pulled the chained weapon back and threw it again.

A battle cry roared out as Thalia rushed straight into the sickle and batted it aside with her shield and thrust with her spear. Thresh cackled as he batted away her weapon with his lantern and delivering a heavy kick to her shield. The force knocking her off her feet once more.

The chain warden with unnatural speed positioned himself over Thalia as he held his lantern over her figure. Thalia's body began to dissolve into green mist as it was slowly pulled into the lantern. Zoe watched with horror as Thalia's face contorted into a scream, yet no sound seemed to emit.

But then it stopped as Thresh began to thrash around and reach for something on his back. The chain warden brought his chained sickle up and it began to glow green. Then with a mighty roar he brought it down. A gale of green soul fire erupted and began to pull everything behind him. A figure landed in the snow as a hat fell off revealing Annabeth gasping for breath, the air being knocked from her lungs.

Thalia screamed at the wraith as she let loose a bolt of lightning from her spear. The lightning booming as it struck the wraith in the chest and launching him into a car. The vehicle seemingly bending around him from the force.

"Annie!" The daughter of Zeus rushed over to the woozy child of Athena.

"I'm fine." She muttered. "I just feel a bit wrong." Zoe couldn't help but agree. The girl's skin had seemed to pale considerably. Her eyes seemed a bit unfocused and she looked on the verge of throwing up.

"Come on we need to lea—"

"**hahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA!"**

Zoe froze as insane cackling filled the air. Fear, a feeling she had managed to learn to suppress centuries ago, reared its ugly head in full force.

Thresh stood in the center of the road, laughing without a care in the world. Any damage that Thalia had done with that powerful bolt of lightning was made mute. The four demigoddesses all watched with mute horror as the wraith's body began to stich the damage back together before their very eyes.

"I'm really wishing Percy was here." Thalia muttered and Zoe just found herself nodding in agreement. Despite her centuries of experience dealing with the worst of men, she couldn't help but wish that the son of Poseidon was with them at this moment.

"RREEEETTTT!" Then out of nowhere a massive boar charged straight through Thresh's backside, sending the spectral reaper face first through a tourist shop.

"Or a giant pig. Giant pig is good too."

"Guys? I don't think its friendly." Bianca muttered as the boar pawed at the ground.

"Run. RUN!" Zoe ordered as they all took down the street as fast as their legs could carry them. Zoe could feel the beast behind them slowly gain speed. "Follow me." Zoe shouted. No one questioned her as she ran into a section of woods. Running uphill was a battle in of itself but the dense forest gave them an advantage as the boar was too large to effectively maneuver around them.

Out of the corner of her eye Zoe saw train tracks and, on a hunch, followed them with the other girls right behind her as they all went into a short tunnel. On the other side was a dead end, the bridge that once stood there now missing and the only thing left was a snow filled gorge.

Zoe turned back as watched as the mass of meat that was the boar charge into the tunnel.

"On my mark we jump the sides." She commanded, with Annabeth and Bianca nodding in compliance. Thalia however seemed to have turned pale as the snow as she looked down. "Do you understand Thalia?"

The daughter of Zeus's attention snapped back to Zoe. Her face one of pure terror. "I-I don't—"

Zoe looked into the tunnel. "NOW!" She shouted and watched as the two girls jumped over and hung off the sides, but Thalia was rooted in place. In that split second as the two of them were about to be barreled over Zoe tackled Thalia off the side.

Using one arm she maintained a firm grip on the demigoddess as she used her other hand to grip the side of the bridge. The boar on the other hand charged off the end of the railway and into the gorge below. Its squeals echoed against the stone as it landed face first into the snow, struggling to no avail as it tried to get free.

"Oh, my gods we're alive." Zoe heard Annabeth gasp in relief as she and Bianca stood on the tracks.

"Indeed." Zoe grounded out. "Now if thee would be so kind as to PULL US UP!" She shouted. The two girls were snapped out of their relief and immediately went to help their two friends. Pulling a barely coherent Thalia up first and then Zoe.

The Lieutenant spared Thalia a sorrowful glance as she watched her go through breathing techniques with Annabeth before walking over to the edge and looking down at the trapped boar.

An utterly insane idea popped into her head, and for once she didn't deny it. "Girls I believe we have our transportation."

* * *

**X**

* * *

Cold.

Or what normal people would consider cold.

It had been years since Percy was ever affected by the weather. Be it intense heat or cold, it never bothered him. He slowly trudged through foot deep snow. His clothes covered in a layer of white as was his hair.

But none of this bothered the son of Poseidon. For his attention was on the small little golden doll in front of him.

"Where are we going?"

"_Meep…"_

Yet another question unanswered as the little doll flew forward, father up the mountain. The reborn titan watched for only moment before once more starting his climb higher up the frozen mountain.


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson is property of Rick Riordan and League of Legends is owned by Riot Games**

**Chapter 8**

Snow.

It was cold and unforgiving.

It was dangerous and beautiful.

It reminded Percy so much of the northern lands of the Freljord. The constant cold substance hitting his skin as he travels through the rocky and iced surface of the random mountain, he found himself walking up. His mind was at a halfway point, so lost in the dream like memories of his former self yet so focused on the task that he found himself doing.

Even as the moon is blotted out by the freezing storm above him, he continues. His eyes pierce through the darkness, turning the darkness to barely a hinderance.

Never stopping.

Never straying.

He continues to trudge onwards. Towards that little light that seems like a beacon at the top.

* * *

**X**

* * *

'This is so uncomfortable.' That was the singular thought going through each of the girl's heads as they rode on the back of the boar. Its bristled hide chafing their legs with each trot. The mountains had long since faded into the distance and the sun was setting on the horizon.

The sky was a beautiful array of colors as the burning orange of the sunset was slowly drowned in the pitch-black darkness of the night sky. The silver glow of the moon and the river of stars becoming the only form of light in the sky.

The massive boar slowed to a leisurely pace before stopping at a muddy creek. It refused to move any further.

"This is as far as it will travel." Zoe said as she slid of the boar. The other girls following suit, stretching their legs to get the uncomfortable feeling out of their bodies.

"I feel like I'm going to lock up." Annabeth groaned.

"Thank the gods for pants." Thalia grimaced as she could only imagine the level of chafing that would have occurred in the presence of shorts.

The boar didn't even wait and soon ran off back to the mountains as soon as it was full. The girls turned to what could only be described as a ghost town. Like the ones you see in the movies. Wooden buildings that looked like they haven't seen as speck of upkeep in decades. The only thing that looked new was a dusty old taco shack. Beyond it were literal hills or scrap metal piles in a fenced off junkyard.

"Maybe we'll find a working car in there." Thalia joked.

"Along with tetanus and whatever other diseases." Annabeth replied in a dry tone. The soreness from ridding the boar still making her irritable.

"We should set up camp." Zoe suggested. "The sun has already set, and we won't make it very far in the dark." The others just shrugged. It was a good a plan as any, and frankly they were all just to tired to go any further.

Zoe and Bianca produced sleeping bags and foam mattresses from their back packs and set them up in a circular fashion. Thalia went off and started to tear down some of the buildings. For the purpose of gathering wood for a fire, but to also vent her frustrations of Percy leaving in a healthy and violent manor. Annabeth just searched the buildings for anything to eat. She only found a package of saltines and a tin of anchovies but decided that hunger was a better option as they both looked like they wore packaged in 1920.

The group laid in their sleeping bags as they watched the stars.

"So, you want to tell us what that thing was?" Annabeth asked, breaking the silence. The questions running in her head about the chain warden were starting to drive her crazy.

Zoe let out a sigh. Everyone's attention was now on her. She didn't really know that much about the specter. The name just rolled from her mouth without her wanting it to. "I have no idea." She spoke honestly. That however didn't seem like a satisfying answer. Especially to the daughter of Athena.

"I call bull." Annabeth glared.

"Why not a horse or three. As long as its not another pig." Thalia joked, ignoring the look that Annabeth was giving her.

"Judge all thy wants. It won't change that I don't have anything to give."

"Then what can you tell us?" Bianca asked.

"It is…" Zoe paused, thinking of the best way to convey what limited information she has. "…a spirit. One of malice and torment."

"Then why haven't we ever heard about this…"

"Thresh." Thalia supplies when Annabeth couldn't remember the name.

"Yes. This 'Thresh' before. It was stronger than any undead spirit I've ever seen." The daughter of Athena let out an involuntary shiver. "Something like that doesn't just appear out of nowhere."

"You are correct. As far as I know it has been around for many millennia. But only spoken of in rumors and here say, even during the gods time in Greece." Zoe explained.

"Then why hasn't there been any information on it?" Annabeth grumbled. She was getting tired of the roundabout.

"Because there has never been anyone living to tell its tale." Zoe spoke in a serious tone. Her eyes and body showing no falsities. The idea of just how dangerous that thing is was like a bucket of cold water to the questers.

"Is there anything—" Bianca asked after a moment of silence but was cut off when a glaring light hit them, causing them to wince. They each got to their feet as a stretched limo pulled up in front of their campsite. The drivers side opening to let out what the girls figured was the most hardcore biker they had ever seen.

Thalia, Bianca, and Annabeth each drew their respective weapons as he stepped out of the vehicle. Only Zoe had her weapons sheathed, but that didn't mean that her hands went away from the hilts of her knives. "Lord Ares." The lieutenant spoke in a curt yet barely respectful tone.

"At ease kiddies." The god of war said as he scanned the group of girls. A smirk planted on his face, as if he found their drawn weapons as nothing more than a joke. Then with a snap of his fingers their weapons fell to the ground. Each of their hands felt numb the closer they went to pick up the fallen weapons. "This is a friendly visit. A favor for a lady, and as the gentleman that I am I couldn't refuse."

'What part of this guy is a gentleman?' was the thought that went through all their heads.

"And what sort of woman are you doing a favor for?" Thalia asked.

Ares just gave a grin before opening the door to the rear of the limo. He gave a come in gesture. "Hold up." He said as they all began move. "Just the phone charger and wonder girl." He said nodding to Thalia and Zoe.

Zoe mouthed 'wonder girl' in confusion.

None of them seemed to like the idea but decided that challenging a war god wasn't the smartest of ideas so decided to just let the two meets with whoever wanted them.

The two girls warily stepped into the limo. The seats were a plush leather that felt smooth to the touch. The ceiling was laced with fluorescent lights that shifted in color. But those were all secondary to the woman sitting across from them. Her face and hair shifted constantly. Never settling, yet each one was more beautiful than the last. But the most consistent would have to be the blonde with amber eyes and a crimson haired woman with sea green eyes.

"Well, well if it isn't the two heroines of this story." The goddess spoke with an amused glint in her eyes.

"What is it thou wants Lady Aphrodite?" Zoe bit out. She decided to speak since Thalia seemed to be entranced by the Love goddess's beauty. It was understandable since it was always hardest to resist during the first meeting.

This was Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. Could you blame her?

"Nothing, nothing." Aphrodite waved of the harsh tone with her perfectly manicured hands. "I just wanted to see what was so interesting about you questers." She gave a charming smile to the two girls, one that didn't quite reach all the way. "Or rather, that interesting new son of Poseidon that Olympus has been clamoring over."

Hearing the mention of her friend Thalia broke from her mesmerized state. "What do you want with Percy?" She spoke with no restraint to the aversion she felt at this goddess's interests. Even Zoe was feeling a bit defensive at the moment for reasons that she couldn't understand.

"What do I want with him?" Aphrodite spoke aloud as one of her delicate fingers tapped her chin. The faux ignorance starting to get on both the girls' nerves, but Zoe did a better job at hiding it. "Well why wouldn't I want to see him. He has only been apart of the mythical world for a short period and he's already humiliated the Hunt," Zoe growled at the example. "and defeated the Nemean Lion. If I didn't know any better, I would say that this was the second coming Hercules." She made a pointed look at Zoe, her smile taunting her with information that the Lieutenant didn't know. The girl just bit back a growl.

"So that's what this is? Just some kind of story for you?" Thalia asked not noticing the tense aura coming from her companion next to her.

"A modern-day Hercules." Aphrodite smiled at the idea. "The four girls on a quest to save a nobody and then in he comes to save the day. It's a bit cliché but if it works…" she says with a graceful shrug.

"This isn't some mere story. This is a quest to rescue Milady." Zoe said with a voice full of iron.

"Yes. Then the damsels get rescued by their knight in shining armor."

"I'm not a damsel." They both said at the same time. They realize what they said and looked away from each other. Aphrodite just squeals and begins muttering about 'triangles' but it was to quiet for either Zoe or Thalia to hear.

"Look." Thalia interjects into Aphrodite's muttering. "Did you just come all the way here to tell us some useless gossip or what?"

"Well I guess I got what I wanted." Aphrodite gave them a pleasant smile. "You two better go. You have a treacherous road ahead and I don't want this story to end early. And you'd better be careful in my husband's territory. He can be very touchy about his trinkets and trash."

Before the girls could say anything, the door opened, and two hands dragged them out of the limo.

"Let me go!" Thalia shouted as sparks began to dance along her skin, but she never got the chance to shock the grabber as she and Zoe were pushed away from the limo.

"Best of luck ladies." Ares said with a crooked smile as he stepped into the driver's seat of the car and drove off, leaving the four girls choking on dust.

* * *

**X**

* * *

Aphrodite sat in the back of limo looking into a mirror as she fixed the makeup on her face. With a snap of her fingers her skin became clear of any product as she decided to start all over again.

Maybe with a different shade of red this time.

"Did you get what you want?" Ares' voice came from beyond the screen that separated the driver from the passenger.

Aphrodite smiled as she looked at her mirror. An image of the two demigoddesses she just spoke to was playing before her eyes. She couldn't hear what they were speaking, but then again she could if she wanted, she just didn't care. Her attention however was the small embers in their being that seemed to reach out to each other as well as the third left in the mountains.

Barely anything. Not enough to know what kind of emotions they were. Friendly? Familial? Or maybe…something more? The love goddess's smile widens at the thought. One demigod and demigoddess was always interesting to pair, but add in a huntress?

"Maybe. Maybe not." She said as she puts the mirror away and stares out the window. "But it will be interesting to see how this goes."

* * *

**X**

* * *

Zoe ducked under a hanging piece of scrap metal that resembled a horse's leg. The group had decided to make their way through the junkyard as the appearance of Aphrodite and Ares couldn't be a coincidence. The entire time a small feeling of nerves settled in their guts. Like thay were about to step foot into danger.

"Woah," Bianca looked around in awe. "It looks like real gold."

"It is." Zoe said as she eyed the scrap heaps warily. "For the gods it is either golden or not at all. From currency to their homes. Anything different is just the personal preference of the minority."

"Seriously how wasteful can they be." Thalia asked no one as she eyed a crown that was interlaced with various jewels. On one side was a large dent. "You'd think that they'd repurpose some of this."

"Many of these items are either cursed or have no use." Annabeth explained, but she looked like she agreed with Thalia.

Zoe, being a huntress for so long knew the importance of recycling items. Even if they had served their purpose, they can also be used for something else. Well that and she had a collection of trinkets and things that she kept in her tent from her many adventures. Despite what many thought she had hobbies.

"Zoe where are you going?" Bianca called out. Zoe turned around confused to find everyone else a way away from her.

"I am going towards the exit." Zoe said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. They had agreed to follow the position of the stars to head westward.

"But you're going in the wrong direction." Annabeth pointed out.

Zoe just narrowed her eyes in confusion. She was about to correct them when she looked into the sky to find that the Ursa Major constellation wasn't where it was before. Rather it was in a completely different spot.

Why?

In the centuries that Zoe had been a hunter her navigational skills had never been questioned. She was always able to find her way and the amount of times that she had ever been lost could be counted on one hand. And two of those were because she was too concussed to think straight. "I…guess thee is correct." She said reluctantly as she joined with the group.

They continued to wander through the junkyard and multiple times Zoe found herself wandering away from the group. It made no sense to the huntress's mind as she kept going in the same direction. That and the farther they went in the more their nerves seemed to hit them.

The mounds of scrap seemed to shutter and moan for no reason. A chill went up their spines as they felt as if they were being watched.

"Anyone else feel like were lost." Bianca asked as she warily eyed the scrap mounds around them. The sudden groaning of metal seemed to grow louder.

Years of training and instincts had each of them armed with their weapons within seconds. The sound of a metal plate hitting the ground caused all of them to jump. They looked at where the plate had fallen from as the junk mound began to move, revealing large metallic toes.

"Who took something!?" Zoe shouted in a panic as her mind processed what those metal toes could mean, and the answer wasn't one that she wanted to be right about. But to her dismay none of the girls had taken anything. Each of their pockets was empty, which meant that they weren't the only ones in the junk yard of the gods.

"**My, my," **A deceptively deep and smooth voice spoke from the darkness around them. The slow, methodical clinking of boots on dirt ground. The green flames offering no light as Thresh stepped out of the shadows for them to see. The demigoddesses took an instinctive step back, not caring about the rising metal automaton behind them. **"You know its rather rude to leave with out saying goodbye. I even got you a present." **Thresh says with a smirk as he tosses something at the girls' feet. They jump back as it lands with a clunk then stiffen when they realize what it was.

The dented crown.

How long had he been following them?

Zoe didn't want to know if she wanted that answer.

Thresh let a sadistic yet excited tone seep into his voice, like a child on Christmas. **"Let the games begin."** His chained scythe fell from his hand as he loosely gripped the chain. With just a flick of his wrist the scythe buried itself in the scrap pile behind him and he pulled, bringing the entire pile down in an avalanche of metal.

Zoe didn't even hesitate to scream for everyone to move before ducking out herself, lest she be buried underneath a ton of junk. Her training kicked in and she automatically found herself with an arrow notched in her bow and already aimed at where Thresh was.

Keyword being _was_.

She didn't even hear him leave, but that could be excused because of the falling trash, but not even footprints were left. It was as if he was never there in the first place.

GGRRROOAAAA!

A massive shadow blocked the light of the moon as metal seemed to groan in protest. Zoe's eyes widened as she sprinted off further into the junkyard, quietly hoping that the others wisely chose to leave the area as well.

She had faced many creatures and monsters but a prototype Talos was not something that she thought that she could kill.

Each movement had its joints creaking as the probably rusted joints began to finally move. Half of its face seemed to be melted off and in its right hand was a massive sword as big as most ships.

Each step shook the ground, causing Zoe to focus on her feet lest she stumble.

It was only by pure luck that she tripped as a chained scythe flew through the space that her neck was. She crawled into a crouched stance with wide eyes as Thresh lazily walked out from the trash. His skull like face somehow managing to make a sadistic grin.

"**Well aren't you the lucky one."** He said as he patted his lantern. **"You have a real fire in your eyes. I've been wanting to see how much you can take before—" **An arrow struck him in his dominant hand. The expert marksmanship showing as it shattered the bones and neutralized that hand.

Zoe didn't even wait and broke off into a sprint, only glancing back to see the emerald specter rip the arrow from its hand and then heal itself with some of the flames from its lantern. Something interesting that she decides to remember.

"**You can run but I will find you."** Zoe heard the words whispered in her ear. She had to resist the urge to look back as she ran through the mounds of trash. Grabbing a cracked shield, she through it at another pile causing it to crash down as she ran in a different direction. She ran in random direction, only making sure to not stray too far from the prototype Talos.

A bolt of lightning strikes the metal automaton in the face. Its massive sword waving through the air in reckless swings.

Well at least she knows where Thalia is.

Zoe skids to a halt and presses her back against a one wheeled chariot. Her heart pounds in her chest as she evens out her breathing. But it's to no avail.

It's as if her body is refusing to cooperate. Her heart is beating against her chest and sweat keeps cascading down face.

Step

Step

_Step_

No. He couldn't have. Zoe had made sure to hide her trail and throw him off. She had done it hundreds of times with wild beasts with senses greater than even her own. She slowed her breathing and listened. Zoe needed to figure out where he was coming from so to know which way to escape. The steady sounds of the footsteps seemed to get closer and closer yet still so distant.

Getting her heart rate back down to an acceptable level had not been an easy task, but it was manageable. She needed to start moving again. The faster that she made it back to the others the better their chances of escaping together.

So why in the name of the gods was she going a different direction!

At least was going in the general direction of the proto-Talos, but with the way she was walking she was also getting farther from it.

It was an indescribable feeling. One akin to a pulling sensation. It was a need, a desire. Her hands felt empty despite the bow in her grip. So, lost in trying to escape her pursuer and trying to figure out the purpose of these feeling did she stop at a pile of junk.

It was unassuming, no different from any of the other piles around her. But all the same she found herself climbing the scraps. Her hands deftly pulled herself up, avoiding the sharp edges. Her body moved with inbuilt grace and precision from her countless years of training.

What may have taken minutes of stumbling for anyone else was really only thirty seconds for the huntress. Her body not even fatigued. The only thought on her mind was if this was worth it. Currently she was exposed. She had no real cover and no view of the chain warden in sight.

Her gaze settled in front of her. The sound of waves roared in her ears. Her palms were sweaty, knees weak, arms were heavy. In front of her was a staff that seemed to call to her. Like a lost child finding its parent.

A long shaft, dulled to a toneless grey from years of age, at the but was a dark blue gem that no longer shined. At the tip was a large golden circle with a decorative flourish on its ring that seemed to be made of something that Zoe could not recognize. The blue flourish seemed to ark like waves around the gold and faintly radiated magic, had long since lost its luster.

Zoe's eyes glazed over as she reached for it. It was calling to her in a voice that only she could hear. She didn't even hesitate as her hand grasped the dulled metal.

It felt comfortable. More comfortable than anything she had ever felt. Only her lost sword could compare to how well it felt in her hand.

"What are you?" Zoe murmured as she stared intently at the staff, as if it would answer her and answer her questions.

So, lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even respond until it hit her. The piercing pain in her right shoulder as she was dragged from her perch and down to the ground below. She wasn't even able to scream as her landing knocked the breath from her lungs.

"**Found you~"** Thresh sang with glee.

Zoe struggled to get up as her shoulder burned with fiery pain. Her silver jacket already stained red on its right side.

"GAAAHH!" Zoe screamed as Thresh yanked the chain of his scythe, dragging her to him. All the while a pleasant whistle came from his lips. It was mocking, as if her were a fisherman reeling in his catch.

In a blind haste she desperately grasped at anything. Anything to slow the pull, to stop the wraith. A cursed sword? A magic crown? Anything!

Her hand gripped on metal that hummed at her touch. She pulled it close to her body and turned to face her tormentor. With grit teeth, she ripped the scythe from her shoulder and leveled the staff at Thresh's face. The staff began to glow a bright blue as a burning determination sparked in Zoe's eyes.

Thresh looked at her with mouth a gape as the staff was inches from his skeletal face. A brief expression flashed in his eyes.

Recognition?

It didn't matter to Zoe.

She was already speaking words that fell out of her lips without her meaning, not that she would hold them back.

**[Tidal Wave.]**

"**Oh fu—"**

* * *

**X**

* * *

Thalia sent another bolt of lightning at the proto-Talos. The strain of the lightning was starting to tire her out but out of the three present she was the only one capable of doing any damage.

Annabeth was digging through the trash to try and find anything of use. Bianca was trying to take its eyes out with her arrows.

"This is getting us…Nowhere!" Thalia shouted as she dodged a massive foot. "FUCK OFF!" She shouted at the metal giant.

Its mouth opened and let out a halfway between a roar and a foghorn. Thalia was pretty sure that parts of whatever it had for a brain were melted along with its face as it was just swinging its sword around like a rampaging toddler.

"We need to find Zoe!" Bianca shouted as she fired an arrow that just pinged off its metallic skin.

"We won't be able to find Zoe until we get rid of him!"

Annabeth popped out of nowhere with a large something in her arms. Thalia had no idea what it was, just that it looked like a gaudy mixture of a tuba and a gun. Thalia could probably guess what was running through her mind. That since they were already in deep shit they might as well just use whatever was around her to their advantage.

"Ok, I think I have a plan to—" Annabeth started speaking but stopped when she almost tripped and fell over. The ground trembled beneath them as the sound of roaring water filled their ears.

The three girls all looked up as a shadow covered the light of the moon. Their mouths agape as a giant Fuck-You sized tidal wave bulldozed through the junkyard. Nothing could stand against the raging waters as mounds of metal were swept up in the current and dragged along.

Thalia didn't hesitate and grabbed the back of Bianca and Annabeth's shirts, practically dragging them to a safe zone. She didn't even need to think as she instinctively knew where the safest place from the countless gallons was.

They barely managed to make it out of the danger zone as the wave passed behind them. The proto-Talos, not fast enough to escape, was barreled over by countless gallons of water and tons of scrap. The giant laid on its back in ankle deep water, one of its legs and arms were broken or just refusing to work as metal stuck out of sparking joints.

Thalia looked at the giant, her mind working in ADHD overdrive. This thing was a machine. It didn't feel pain and injuries didn't hinder it unless something vital was destroyed.

A small glow flickered in the corner of her eye. Her head turned to the bright flashes, which happened to be a sparking cable from a ruined power line. One that was probably toppled in the out of nowhere flood. An idea sparked in her head as she raced through the water. Her shoes and socks soaking in water and slowing her down slightly, but she didn't stop, instead she went faster.

The water acting as a natural conduit for the sparking power line and her body feeling greatly rejuvenated.

She picked up the cable mid sprint and holding the metal in her hand. The conductive cords providing even more power through direct contact.

Using the superior strength, even among demigods, she leapt onto proto-Talos' jammed arm and climbed till she was in his face. Was it a stupid plan? One that could get her severely injured? Most likely. But if she had to give it a percentage for success, she didn't because fuck numbers. She knew this would work.

Raising her fist up she brought out her shield, a copy of the legendary Aegis, and punched down as hard as she could on Talos' eye. The edge punching a hole clean through. She winced when the metal giant let out a devastatingly loud wail. It took all of her will not to cover her ears, despite feeling like her eardrums would rupture at any moment. She didn't have time as one of the giant's arms was still functional.

She didn't even hesitate in jamming the severed power line into the eye, hoping that the electricity would fry something important, but she wasn't one to do things halfway.

The demigoddess felt a sharp stabbing pain in her body as she pulled as much power as she could. Calling forth the biggest lightning strike she could, the result not being a simple bolt like all those times before but instead a pillar of pure destructive energy.

The ground charred and glassed over from the heat. Mounds of metal flying in all directions from the force. All water within fifty feet was immediately evaporated. At the center Thalia grit her teeth as her eyes glowed a bright shade of electrical blue with trails of electricity running up and down her body.

What seemed like an eternity for the demigoddess was only a few short seconds before the lightning stopped.

The remaining water from the flood filled the empty space, steaming as it came into contact with the failed metal giant. Its body was charred black. Thalia being the only speck of non-black due to the brown duster she was wearing.

"Ha!" Thalia said breathlessly. "I. Winnnnnn—" Slurred out the word before falling from her seated position and into the arms of a worried Bianca and Annabeth.

Bianca was freaking out while Annabeth managed to bury her worry as she checked her surrogate sister for injuries. Worries can wait till later, life threatening injuries couldn't.

The sound of splashing water alerted the two to another presence and they immediately drew their weapons, Bianca with her bow and Annabeth with her tuba gun, on the approaching figure only to relax when they realized it was Zoe using a rather large and ornate staff like a walking stick.

Although They immediately gave Zoe their bag of ambrosia when they realized that she was the worst of all of them. A large wound in her shoulder, bruises all over her body and face, and probably more injuries that she wasn't telling them about. When asked what happened she just stared at the staff in her hands. Her grip tightening on it, as if it would disappear at any time. Although neither of the two girls could see what was so special about it. In fact, to Annabeth it looked dead if the dullness of it was any indication.

When they asked what happened to Thresh, Zoe only replied that he had been dealt with. Deciding not to press further Annabeth carried an unconscious Thalia on her back while Bianca lead the way, Zoe refusing to be helped, using the staff as a walking stick and instead brought up that they needed someone combat able to stay alert.

Not that it was really necessary as they were out within five minutes, the tidal wave turning the twisting maze of scrap metal and junk into a straight shot to the exit where an old truck with a full tank of gas sat.

None of them were going to question the obvious gift from the gods and loaded an unconscious Thalia and an injured Zoe into the back bed while Annabeth and Bianca sat up front with the daughter of Athena driving.

"Annabeth."

"Yeah?"

Why did you bring the tuba?"

* * *

**X**

* * *

Percy stood at the top of the mountain, his dual colored eyes staring at the large figure in front of him. Its body looked like a large ball of cloth with what could only be described as a mane of white fur around the golden mask it had for a face.

The little golden puppets danced around joyously in its presence. The horn in its mouth letting out an otherworldly melody. It was simply beautiful, there was no other way to describe it. All around it the snowy clouds seemed to dissipate as the sky opened up.

Countless stars glittered like gemstones, illuminating the sky with a myriad of astral colors. A breathtaking canvas that had long since been lost due to the light of man. A sight that Percy could only find in his endless memories.

"I am glad you have arrived wanderer." A soft voice spoke from Percy's side. His gaze shifted over to the rather tall purple skinned woman to his side. She had an inhumane beauty with her purple skin and golden pure golden eyes. Her silver hair fell down her back as a large glowing horn caused it to frame her face. Pointed ears stuck out from her head.

Despite her hooved feet she moved with grace far beyond what Percy had seen from any of the satyrs and even the hunters.

She gave Percy a soft smile, not a pitying one or a forced one. He had long since seen past those, but a real genuine smile.

"My name is Soraka and this is my associate Bard." She gestured to the large figure still playing its horn. "We have much to discuss."

* * *

**X**

* * *

Back in camp half blood a lone figure was pacing in the woods. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for this individual, actually he always did this when he needed some alone time.

"Dammit. Dammit!" the boy shouted as he punched a tree. "Why?" He asked thought no one was present. "Why is it always her."

The boy walked over to the stream and looked at his reflection. Haggard grey eyes and messy blonde hair stared back at him.

"Why? Why is it her. Why do you always look out for her!" He growled lowly. "I achieved quests in our name. I became a leader in your name. So why is it that you refuse to acknowledge me?" His voice began to break, tears began to form in his eyes, threatening to fall. "Why do you send her dreams and gifts when I work so much harder?"

"Josh?" A small voice asked, but the silence of the forest carried it.

Josh, the son of Athena, straightened himself as he rubbed away the tears. He couldn't show weakness, not to anyone. That was the curse that he chose to bear as the leader of camp. He turned around once he felt his appearance was acceptable to see Andy, one of his closest friends.

"Andy. What are you doing here? Its past curfew."

"I could ask you that as well?" Andy asked. Josh bit back a smile. Andy had always been a timid person; confrontation was usually the last thing on his mind. A trait that had always had him bullied and taken advantage of in the mortal world. Even camp wasn't an exception to this. Well, that was until Josh became his friend.

The two had been inseparable. Josh providing protection to Andy from the more aggressive campers, and Andy becoming a sort of anchor for Josh, one the son of Athena could vent to and ask for opinions.

"I-I got worried. You've been coming out here more often."

Josh inwardly cursed when he saw how worried his friend was. He didn't mean to, but stress was always something he dealt with alone. It prevented him from lashing out at others. "Its nothing." Josh waved off. "I'm feeling much better now. Go back to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Andy looked hesitant. But nodded and walked away. Josh let out a breath that he didn't even know he was holding in.

He told Andy everything. He was the one person that he could rely on. The one person in camp that he knew he could trust without a doubt.

But not now.

Josh's fingers slid into his pocket where they grasped cold metal. Tentatively he pulled it out and stared at the scythe key chain in his fingers.

His lips pursed into a thin line. His mind playing back to a certain conversation with a certain son of Hermes. The promises. Promises of victory, power, and most of all recognition.

He slipped the key chain back into his pocket.

There was so much for him to think about.


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson is property of Rick Riordan and League of Legends is owned by Riot Games**

**Chapter 9**

Thalia heard the sound of crashing waves as she slept, the waves tickling her feet as a soft breeze caressed her in its warm embrace.

"Wa… ...p…"

A whisper on the wind fills her ears. A niggling in her mind that stirs her from the comforting embrace of Morpheus' realm.

"C..me…ake…p!"

"No, five more minutes…" Thalia mumbles as she turns over into the sand. The grains acting as a soft pillow for the demigoddess.

Well, at least it was before a boot struck her in the back, sending her face first into the sand. "PFFFT! What the Hades!" She snarls as she spit the sand out of her mouth.

Zoe stood over the dark-haired demigoddess with a slight smirk. It wasn't a new experience waking up someone who didn't want to. Many new hunters always had a difficult transition with the early wake up call and as the Lieutenant to give them the 'proper' motivation. And if that motivation happened to include three gallons of honey, the hunt's wolves, their left socks and a pineapple.

…Well the less said about that incident the better.

"Thou wouldn't wake." Zoe said with a shrug, but the faint smirk was still there, showing that she wasn't sorry in the slightest. "Tis the easiest solution."

Thalia grumbled under her breath with Zoe only hearing a few choice words, most having to do with shocking and various body parts.

Thalia looked around to the rest of the beach. "So, did we make it to California?" She asked as she ran her hand through her hair to get more of the sand out.

"Unless the west coast decided to grow jagged mountains over the span of a few months, then I would say no." Zoe spoke sarcastically though her words were laced with awe. Thalia was about to respond with her own snarky comment until she turned around. Her eyes looking out to sea just like her companion, just staring at the massive monoliths out at sea. They rose out of the water, looking like the sharp pointed teeth of a predator, and their size made it seem like they were scraping the sky itself. Some mountains, as there was no other way to classify them as, had large holes through the middles, large enough that a cruise liner might be able to squeeze through. Some had large stone bridges that connected them, and many of them were covered in green jungles.

"Bilgewater." Thalia muttered under her breath as she stared in awe.

"What did you say?"

"What?" Thalia looked over at Zoe, in confusion. Her mind so jumbled that she didn't even realize she spoke.

"Thou said Bilgewater." Zoe pressed, getting closer into Thalia's personal space. "How does thou know that name."

"I don't know." Thalia said as she shoved Zoe away.

Zoe refused to back down, trying to dig out any information that the daughter of Zeus had on the name that she shouldn't even be aware of. One of many names that had been permanently ingrained into her mind, no matter how many years had passed. She had brought up such topics with her goddess, but even that was a dead end as the goddess had never heard of such places nor seen them from any pictures that Zoe drew.

Now here stands before her a demigoddess. A child, far younger and less traveled than even the newest hunter who seems to recognize the places in her head from just a mere glance. "Do not lie to me!" Zoe snaps. "Such a thing, not even the gods know of. Yet thou are able to recognize it with but a glance."

"I told you I don't know!" Thalia bit out. It was like something was on the forefront of her mind. Like sunlight trying to break through storm clouds, but for whatever reason it just wouldn't. The knowledge was foreign to her, yet she could feel it. Like a fond memory that she could picture clear as day despite the fact that she had never been there, and it was honestly starting to freak her out.

"Damn. They really argue a lot." A voice spoke. Her voice had held a blend of teasing confidence. Like you could hear the smirk in her voice.

"Now now, it's not like we didn't have our own problems." A second voice spoke. Hers was youthful and laced with mirth.

"Yeah but we never looked like we were about to rip each other's throats out." The first voice said.

Immediately Thalia and Zoe were on edge. Looking around the empty expanse in order to find the observers.

"Why have you brought us here?" Zoe shouted. She had found herself on this beach many times in her dreams over the centuries, but never with another person.

"Wait? Do you know who this is?" Thalia asked.

"No, but she will." The second voice spoke as a vague figure appeared.

The two girls fell into combat stances as they observed the vague figure. They guessed that it was a woman by the voice and the rather generous curves on the body, however the lower half of her body was one large limb rather than a pair of legs.

"Or rather, you both will." A second figure appeared. This one belonging to the first voice. This one being obviously female like her associate but fully human. Her hands rested on her hips as she stood in a very way that would turn many heads.

"Oh. I just love how their dreams can connect." The oddly shaped female said with a bit of enthusiasm. "I haven't seen you in so long."

"Yeah, yeah. The love is just spreading around." The other woman waved her off, but you could hear the genuine care in her voice.

The oddly shaped woman lets out a sigh as she shifts around in the air, revealing her lower half to actually be a tail like those of Poseidon's citizens.

"Thou is a mermaid." Zoe said, but the answer felt wrong in her mouth as she said it.

"Your so close." The 'mermaid' said. "Just a little more." She goaded, like a teacher coaxing a child.

"You're a vastaya." Thalia spoke up. Almost immediately a painful headache struck them both. It felt like a sharp nail being repeatedly hammered into their skulls. Images flashed through their minds at blinding speeds, too fast to comprehend but a sense of nostalgia and familiarity existed before it ended.

Both girls were kneeling on the sand, their breath haggard from the experience. Zoe was the first to regain herself as she looked up at the shaded individuals. Even though their faces were obscured she had a feeling that they had sorry smiles.

"Gah! What the fuck!" Thalia however had a much livelier reaction. The demigoddess began to curse up a storm as the stabbing pain in her head lessened. "What was that?"

"Maybe it was too soon." The normal looking female said to her associate, completely ignoring Thalia.

"A lifetime of experiences is not something easy to digest." The 'vastaya' said with a sigh. "  
I'm afraid the process may have jumbled them."

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Thalia shouted, not liking the fact that she was being ignored.

Zoe however kept a level head as she listened to them. "What process has the done? What are thou talking about?"

The two shadows glanced back and forth, having some kind of silent conversation which the mermaid won if the exaggerated throwing of the normal woman's arms were anything to go by.

"You see—" The mermaid started before the world began to shift. "It seems we are out of time." She said as she looked at the sky.

"But thou hasn't told us anything!" Zoe shouted as everything began to dissolve.

"Just remember. Stick together." The shadowed woman said before she strut away.

"Trust yourself. Trust the memories." The mermaid called out as everything faded away. The two girls tried to call out to the two shadowed figures, but their voices were swallowed by the void. There was no feeling or sound around them. No matter how much they screamed they nothing came out.

Then everything faded to black.

* * *

**X**

* * *

The two questers woke as they were violently thrown into the air only to land awkwardly on top of each other in the back of a truck bed. They picked themselves up with a groan as their heads pounded due to an unfortunate headbutt.

"Well look who finally decided to wake up." A sarcastic voice shouted from the front. Both Zoe and Thalia turned to see Annabeth hunched over the steering wheel while Bianca hung out the passenger window with her bow drawn. "Now if you'd so kindly HELP US!" Annabeth snapped as Bianca let an arrow fly.

The two girls looked to where the arrow flew. A large pack of Hellhounds was chasing their truck as they shot down and empty road.

"What the hell happened?!" Thalia shouted as she shot a bolt of lightning into the pack that killed a few of them, but that was quickly filled in with more hounds.

"I told Annabeth that we shouldn't have stopped at the Hoover dam. But then again when does anyone listen to me." Bianca griped.

"It was a national monument. How could we not stop and look around."

"Very easily. All you had to do was dri—"

"As helpful as thou arguing is," Zoe shouted as she hit a Hellhound between the eyes. This caused the ones behind it to trip over its corpse as it fell before turning to gold dust. "Someone please explain how we have come to this situation?"

Annabeth called out a warning before jerking the steering wheel to the left and ramming into a monster that got too close. "After you both passed out, we took turns driving—"

"Until somebody decided to take a detour." Bianca sassed.

"Not now!" The blonde snapped before turning back to the road. "We were ahead of schedule and it was right there." Annabeth exclaimed as if it made perfect sense. "A monument to human ingenuity."

"Your lucky that red head bailed us out!"

"Girls!" Thalia snapped. "Bianca just focus on firing those arrows." The huntress didn't argue and started firing arrows once more. "I'm going to guess that this pack was nearby and found you?" She asked. Annabeth jerkily nodded at Thalia's assessment. The daughter of Zeus looked over to the Lieutenant. "You got another tidal wave in you?" She asked, looking at the mystic staff that the huntress had strapped to her back.

"No." Zoe spoke with disappointment. She had already tried to pull something off, but the staff had become dormant after that massive release of magic. It felt almost lifeless in her hands and she just had this overwhelming urge to fix it.

Thalia bit out a curse as she sent another bolt into the pack. Her mind began to race as she tried to figure out how to get out of this situation. Countless enemies were nipping at their heels. Like a black mass with countless eyes they were so close together.

**BANG!**

They were grouped together.

**BANG!**

She was surrounded.

**BANG!**

The smell of cheap booze and gunpowder filled her nostrils.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**BANG!**

In that moment Thalia's body began to move as memories flashed through her skull. The pain was almost unbearable, but the demigoddess grit her teeth and endured it. She moved with precision and finesse of someone who practiced the move thousands of times yet not once in her life had the girl done this. He vision flickered, her targets shifting between people and monsters, not that it made any difference.

They were all going to die anyways.

No one crosses the bounty hunter and lives.

Thalia's hands tighten into fists as she raises them towards her pursuers, her pointer finger and thumb forming into finger pistols. Electricity sparks off her as it travels and condenses at the tips of her fingers.

She didn't have bullets, but when had that ever stopped her. She had always used whatever that was around her to complete her task and now wasn't any different.

Her mind was already making the calculations as the world seemed to fade out of her focus. Figuring out where to strike for maximum devastation in split second glances.

Then as if a trigger was pulled Thalia went into action. The collected energy was released in a wave of powerful bolts, as if she had fired from an automatic weapon and taped down the trigger.

There were no wasted movements in her form. If one side got too close, she would zap it into oblivion before it could even get close enough to try something. The electricity arcing from one hellhound to another like a ravenous beast only added to the devastation as the horde dwindled to nothing.

The entire massacre only lasted 5 seconds.

Each of the girls looked in awe at what the daughter of Zeus managed to pull off. That level of control over lightning was not something that even Zoe had seen amongst the countless spawns of Zeus that she had met. If anyone would ask, she would deny the genuine smile that spread over her face as she watched it occur. After all, her friend was always known for her unique flare of drama.

Zoe shook her head as she realized she had just called Thalia her friend, even if it was in her own head.

"Holy shit." Bianca said breathlessly as she watched the carnage disappear behind them. "That was ama—Thalia!" She screamed.

Zoe immediately leapt up to catch the demigoddess as she fell like a lifeless puppet. Her eyes were rolled into the back of her head as a trail of blood flowed out of her nose.

"Is she okay!" Annabeth demanded as she kept looking between the rearview mirror and the road. She looked about ready to pull over at that moment just to check on the girl.

Sadly, Zoe couldn't let her do that. They were already behind schedule as it was. To make any more stops would only jeopardize the mission further. "She is fine." Zoe quickly replied. "She just needs more rest." She takes off her jacket so that Thalia can use it as a pillow. The problem was that the amount of rest that she would need probably wasn't enough for the amount of time that they had available. "How much longer till we arrive?"

"A few hours?" Annabeth replied unsurely.

"Keep driving. I shall watch over her." Zoe spoke in a tone that shut down any argument, but also conveyed as much care as she could.

The huntress let out a sigh as she watched the demigoddess sleep, brushing a few strands of hair away in a rare moment of care that even she didn't know she had. 'Where are you Perseus?'

* * *

**X**

* * *

"Talk." It was one word, but it carried a weight when Percy spoke it.

Soraka nodded and moved next to Bard. She gracefully lowered herself onto a stone with a flat surface. With a simple wave of her hand she inclined Percy to do the same as this conversation would be better down as comfortably as possible. "This new body of yours is quite appealing." Soraka tries to lighten the mood but Percy remains stoic. The celestial lets out a sigh. "The gap between dimensions has weakened." She says in a serious voice.

Percy raises a single brow, the only display of intrigue. "Gap?"

Soraka nods before motioning over to Bard. The dimensional traveler makes a wide wave of his gloved hand, creating a glowing mural of light. The mural is solid blue and red on opposite ends, with only a thin golden strip to separate them. "The dimensional gap is the boundary between existences." Soraka motions to the golden strip. "It is normally what separates and prevents two dimensions from colliding. If two dimensions were to come into contact, then they would grind against each other until neither remained or the highly unlikely chance that they mix together to create something new."

"Something new?" Percy wondered as he listened to Soraka explain. It wasn't too hard to understand. Dimensions just weren't meant to mix together naturally. It wasn't until the concept of mixing came into play that he was confused. He was originally just comparing the separate dimensions to oil and water. Two substances that just don't mix but the idea of mixing scrapped that visual.

"You need to understand Nautilus," Percy took an extra deep breath at the mention of his former name, but the celestial payed no mind or didn't notice. "The dimensional gap is a place of impossibility. A realm of chaos and endless energy that distorts and warps everything it comes into contact with it. It is not impossible for the energy of the dimensional gap to shift two dimensions until they become compatible with each other, though the process is usually artificial or caused by events of great magnitude. Something with enough energy to warp reality and punch a hole in the gap itself."

"What are you implying?" Percy asked though he had an idea that he knew where this was going.

"Tell me wanderer, what was the last thing you remember before waking up?" Soraka gently asked, trying not to provoke the titan. If a conflict were to arise, she doubted she would come out the victor. As strong as her abilities were, she has and always will be a healer first.

Percy closed his eyes as a wave of memories flood his mind against his will. His teeth clench as his fingers leave grooves in the stone.

_He felt nothing yet everything._

_He saw nothing yet everything._

_Up was down._

_Hot was cold._

_The world twisted in agony and madness. It seemed to scream in his mind with an insatiable hunger that tried to claw away at his sanity and devour it. To corrupt it._

_The titan's power flared in response. Its rage as vast and deep as the ocean. Such parasites would never consume it. _

_No, it would CONSUME THEM!_

_Powers collided and the gap shattered._

"Conflict." Percy murmured, but his voice was heard through the silence. "The gap tried to consume. To destroy. But it couldn't. IT CAN'T!" Percy ground out in anger at the memory. "We cannot be consumed. We cannot be broken. So. We. Fo**ught**. **Back**!"

Soraka watched with visible interest as the demigod in front of her seethed with rage at the memory. The mountain began to tremble, and the blizzard howled with renewed vigor. When she first felt the soul of the titan, she needed to make sure that it was actually him. Over her many, _many _years in this realm she had become entuned with how different the life forces felt as compared to those of Runeterra. With the exception of a small group, compared to the planet's population of course, the life forces of humans were greatly weaker. Only those that had managed to ingrain themselves as legends were able to compete with the warriors of her own home realm. Not to mention the deities, monsters, and other supernatural things. But when she found the titan of the deep, she found something that she had never thought possible.

Pure symbiosis.

No. Even that was wrong as that implied that they were two separate entities working together. They were one being. Inseparable. One with the raw primal power of born from the darkest abyss of Runeterra, and another descended from divinity as a bright beacon of power. Two beings at the opposite spectrums of power not finding balance, but rather breaking it and reforging it into something stronger.

"You fought against the gap?" It was as much a statement as it was a question. "Then that is likely where this all started." She noticed the look on Percy's face, or rather barely noticed. "I was able to watch your battle with the tormented souls of the Harrowing, BUT," She held out her hand, halting the burning temper. A temper that was a lot more complex than simple fury that she remember the titan was known for. "I was not able to help since I was on Mount Targon. Your fight and the resulting energy that you as well as the countless souls of the Harrowing were outputting was astronomical. It created a gaping hole in the fabric of reality, taking you and random parts of Runeterra with it. Including those of your companions and when you fought against the gap itself. That only created a larger tear that took even more pieces with it."

Percy visibly deflated, his stoic frown deepening. "I killed them."

(No.) Percy looked up at the mass of fur and cloth that until now had been completely quiet. His voice still sounded like an otherworldly melody, but it was no longer indecipherable. (You. Saved. Them. Perish. Otherwise. Souls. Lost.)

"Bard is right Nautilus." Soraka gave a genuine smile. "If you hadn't done what you did, they would have been torn apart by the raging souls. And if you hadn't fought against the gap they would have ceased to exist within the gap. As it stands because of you both realities have bleed over into one another safely…well relatively speaking."

"So, it really is them." Percy asked with a spark in his eyes. A spark that Soraka could only call a spark of joy. An amusing look on the stoic face of the giant teen. "I will find them again."

"Yes. Those without the inability to age like ourselves have gone through this realities cycle of reincarnation but I know without a doubt that the souls of those from our realm are far too strong to be erased so easily."

Percy didn't even wait as he stood up, not caring that the snow and dirt clung to him. He turned around, ready to make the impossible walk to catch up to his companions.

"Wait." Percy had to suppress the annoyance that was bubbling up. He had finally received a full-blown admission that they were here with him after all these years and these people still wanted to hold him up. Percy turned and gave her a look. Not a scathing or irritated look, they had helped him far too much for him to be so rude, but one of impatience. "Here." Soraka reached into one of her pouches and pulled out a bundle of cloth. "You'll know when you need this." She handed the cloth to him and he was faintly surprised to feel how cold it was. Percy hadn't felt cold in many years, but this had managed seep past his body's natural defenses.

BWWOMM

A large swirl of gold opened past the edge of the cliff.

(One. Final. Gift.) The bard spoke as he gestured to the golden rift. It was a gateway through space, right to where he needed it to go.

Percy gave a nod of thanks and didn't even hesitate to jump through.

**Here's another chapter. Sorry that this was so late. I was focusing on my main story that I forgot what I had in mind for this until recently. Anyways I hope you leave a review and some criticism on if there's anything I need to improve. **

**Happy Halloween**

**Momentei**


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